A & E
by Alluvial Fan
Summary: What would happen if the tale of Frozen was set in a modern day reality setting where magic didn't exist? This is an A/U attempt to bring Frozen from fantasy to real life. (Disney owns it all. Not me. But they inspire so many of us. Thanks Walt.)
1. Chapter 1

**Authors Notes:**

 **Hi everyone, this is my first fanfic. As listed it's based off Frozen. Names have been changed slightly but you'll figure them out. This story is complete at around 65k words so I'll be posting new chapters fairly regularly. Thanks in advance for any reviews. Hope you like it.**

* * *

 **Chapter One.**

 **Switching Seats**

Chris was staring out the window when she spoke to him.

"Sir, your ticket?"

He didn't seem to notice her at first.

"Sir," she called again.

"What? Oh, sorry. Kind of lost myself there," he chuckled embarrassingly and held out his ticket.

The woman at the desk laughed at him. "Not even on the plane and you're already on vacation. Sounds like you need it." She scanned the ticket and handed it back, gesturing for him to head down the hall.

"Yeah, seems like." He laughed. Chris glanced at her name tag and smiled at her. "Thank you, Gwen."

"Enjoy your flight." Gwen smiled back.

Chris made his way down the gangway hall that connected to his plane where he was met by one of the pilots and a crew member who greeted the boarding passengers. They were welcoming the people in front of Chris and directing them onboard to their seats.

As he was waiting his turn, a woman with a small child came up behind him. Chris glanced back at the little boy with his mother. He must have been around three or four years old. He held his mothers hand, swinging it back and forth. Chris smiled at the innocence of the child.

"Welcome aboard sir." The pilot spoke.

"Thank you." Chris responded, stepping up. He handed his ticked to the steward who held his hand out.

"D-4, window seat on the right, sir." He held out his hand to direct Chris and gave him back his ticket.

Chris nodded and made his way in. After finding his seat, he stowed his laptop and carry-on-bag beneath him before sitting down to relax. "First class." He sighed to himself closing his eyes. "That never happens to me." He'd bought an economy ticket but the flight was overbooked and somehow he got bumped. Bumped to first class! "My lucky day he thought." Then he opened his eyes to the person who had sat down next to him.

It was the child, and he was already upset and whining. "Just great!" Chris thought sarcastically to himself. One of the three banes of flying. Stinky people, snoring people, and screaming children. He knew there'd be a catch to getting a first class seat.

He looked at the little boy and had pity on him. "Are you ok?" He asked the boy with a friendly smile.

The boy ignored him and began to cry, wanting his mother. His mother was sitting across the isle, one row foreword. She was looking back and trying to calm the boy. Chris never understood why they would split up parents and their children on a flight. The attendants always sorted things out, but it seemed like a thing that should have been sorted when the tickets were sold. Not after boarding when it became everyone's problem.

Chris was about to offer his seat to the mother as she came over to calm the boy, but he didn't get the chance. When she stood up from her seat, so did a young woman who had been sitting at the window beside her.

They exchanged seats and the young woman came to sit beside Chris. He was impressed with her. She was a very attractive woman, close to his age, maybe a little younger, around twenty seven. She had a slim build and wore a very well tailored black business suit with skirt, nylons, heels and a turquoise blouse under snuggly tailored jacket that flared at her waist. Her reddish blond hair was woven into braids circling her head.

She turned and smiled at him. "Hi, I'm Anne." She held out a well manicured hand with small delicately fabricated silver ring on her index finger. It matched the delicate silver necklace she wore around her neck. She spoke with a subtle European accent.

"Chris." He responded shaking her hand. Her skin was soft and smooth. Then he saw her eyes. They were pale blue like glacial ice. They were striking. He got lost in those eyes for half a second before snapping himself out it. She didn't seem to notice.

"You beat me to it." Chris nodded to the woman with the child.

"Pardon?" Anne questioned looking back at him.

"I was about to offer my seat to them but you beat me to it." He answered casually.

"Too slow, I'm afraid." She smiled. She leaned over, putting her hand bag at her feet before reclining in her seat. "He's a cute kid isn't he?" She watched the little boy play in his seat who was quite content now sitting with his mother.

"Yeah," he paused, "do you have kids?"

"No," she sighed with a far away look. "No kids, no husband, sadly I'm alone." She gave and exaggerated sigh and laughed.

"What? No family at all?" He questioned.

"Oh, I have a sister. That's where I'm heading in a round about way. When we land, I'm spending a few days in Oslo visiting some friends, then heading home to her. And you?"

"About the same I guess. My job makes having a social life outside of work a little hard. So do you live in Norway?" He asked.

"Yes." She smiled. "And you? Are you from New York?"

"No, just here on a short business conference. I have some meetings with our research council in Oslo," Chris checked his watch, "tomorrow and the next couple days, then I'm free for some R'n'R."

"And you? What do you do?" He looked at Anne.

"Oh, I dabble a little in fashion, textiles and the markets pertaining to them. There was a fashion conference in New York this week that I attended." She smiled politely and then looked away to organize something in her carry-on bag.

Chris settled back in his chair looking out the window at the activity on the ramp. Tugs and refuelling trucks were zipping about, rampies busied themselves everywhere loading and unloading cargo and marshalling aircraft. As another airline taxied by, a little girl looking out her window caught his eye. She smiled and waved to him as she went by. Chris grinned and waved back chuckling. "How exciting it must be for a child to fly." He thought to himself. He'd been on more flights around the world than he could remember. The novelty had long since worn off and flights had become more of a nuisance to him now.

"Pardon me, would you care for a drink?" The stewardess held out a tray with flutes of champagne.

Anne reached out and took a glass, turned to Chris and held it out to him. "Thank you," he replied, taking the offered glass. More first class perks.

Anne took a second glass for herself, smiling at her server. "Thank you Jackie."

The stewardess smiled brightly back at her. "We'll be taxiing out for take off in about five minutes if you would care to get settled. Enjoy."

Chris sipped quietly for a few minutes and was enjoying the perks of first class, mostly the ability to stretch his legs out, when the captain came on the radio to welcome everyone and give his passenger preflight speech. Following that, the crew immediately went into their preflight safety briefing. As they rolled through their spiel, he wondered if there was really anyone left in the world who didn't know how to buckle a seatbelt or know to exit the plane through the doors.

Before they had finished the briefing, the plane taxied out to the runway. As they sat at the end of the runway, Anne turned to Chris, held up her glass and smiled, "Skol". She clinked their glasses together and was just taking a sip when the plane lurched forward spilling her champagne on her face and all down the front of her blouse.

Chris looked shocked. Anne looked surprised at first but then laughed embarrassingly at herself as she wiped her face with her napkin. He handed her his napkin but aside from that there was nothing to be done. They were on roll out and the flight attendants would be strapped in until they were in the air and levelled off. He fumbled around in one of the pockets of his brown cargo pants and found a mini packet of facial tissues and gave to her.

"Thank you." Anne responded, wiping her blouse. "Looks like I can't hold my liquor. Literally." She chuckled again, still looking embarrassed, as the planes wheels lifted off the runway.

She sighed after mopping up most of the champagne from her blouse and skirt. "Sometimes I just love flying. Where else can you be in close quarters with a group of strangers and embarrass the heck out of yourself?" She let out another sigh shaking her head as she dabbed her blouse with the tissues again.

"Elevators?" Chris offered.

Anne stopped and looked at him strangely for second before a sly smile crossed her face. "Speaking from experience or just observation?"

"A bit of both." He mused grinning back.

Anne looked up at Chris, a grin creeping across her face at his response, and wondered what embarrassing tales he had to tell.

A few other people noticed her predicament and chuckled along with her. An older woman across the aisle handed her a napkin and Anne graciously accepted continuing to dab her blouse dry.

"Are you okay?" Chris asked

"Yes, thank you. I'll be fine." She looked down at herself chuckling. "If this is the worst thing that happens on this flight I'll count myself lucky." She looked up at Chris and saw him smiling at her. "What?" She asked. "You think I'm a slob?"

Chris laughed at her and held up his hands in surrender. "Anne, if your a slob, I wish we could all be slobs just like you."

Anne looked at him quizzically.

Chris continued. "Its been a long time since I've met someone so cheerful and positive with life as you. Most people would be cursing after that."

"And what does that get them?" She smiled again. "Frustrated? Angry, and stressed over a spilled drink and some wet cloths? It not worth it. It's quite silly, really. So silly it's funny, and you can't help but laugh. And isn't laughter what the world needs most? If I could make the world happier by spilling a drink or two on me? Pour away." She got a funny look on her face and held up her hand looking more embarrassed. "Okay, wait, that came out wrong."

Chris just raised a questioning eyebrow at her.

"Stop looking at me like that." She teased.

"Like what?" He laughed.

"Like your visualizing a bunch of men," she squinted at him, "or maybe women, pouring drinks down my shirt." She paused, "Oh damn, I walked into that didn't I?"

Chris began laughing again. "Yeah you did, but I have to admit, you certainly are entertaining. Can I travel with you again sometime?" He chuckled some more. "Here..." He offered her his glass in toast as hers was now empty. "To meeting new friends."

Anne looked at him more seriously, took the glass and sipped. She gave him a half smile and whispered, "Thank you," and handed back the glass.

After another minute or two there was an audible ding in the cabin and the 'Fasten Seat Belt' light went out. The stewardess, Jackie, immediately returned with a towel and a warm moist cloth. "I'm so sorry my dear. We're not allowed to get up during takeoff until the seatbelt light is out." She apologized.

"It's alright. I'll live." Anne joked. She looked up at Jackie with a smirk. "It was funny though, wasn't it?" She chuckled again.

The stewardess covered her mouth as she began to laugh. "I'm sorry." She tried to stifle her laugh. "You really are such a good sport about this. Do I dare bring you another drink?" She teased.

Anna laughed again. "Why not. It was funny the first time around. The second time should be hilarious."

Jackie grinned. "I'll be back in minute." She turned and left with a smile.

Anne wiped her face with the warm cloth, sighed and leaned back in her chair, closing her eyes and shaking her head.

Chris looked out the window to see the ground had disappeared and was replaced with endless ocean as far as the eye could see. The sun was low on the horizon behind them, casting it's orange glow across the water.

It was a few minutes before Jackie returned with another champagne along with a stack of napkins. "Just in case." She winked. "Oh, and I spoke with the Captain, he said any food or drinks you want for the rest of the flight are on us. For both of you."

"All that just for spilling on myself?" Anna grinned back. She leaned in to Jackie and quietly asked, "What do I get if I spill on him?" She indicated to Chris.

"That depends," Jackie replied, "on whether you can get him to take his shirt off or not." She winked back as she turned and walked away.

Anne tried to hide her grin behind her champagne as she watched the stewardess walk away. She glanced at Chris out the corner of her eye and saw a touch of embarrassment on his face. He'd obviously heard them but was pretending not to have. She looked at him more closely for the first time. He was cute. Probably a few years older than herself, she thought. He wasn't a solidly built guy but he was slim, fit and she guessed around the same hight as herself. He had short wavy blonde hair and a couple days worth of facial stubble to match. He wore brown cargo pants and a long sleeve tan cotton shirt, with the sleeves rolled up, over a white tee shirt.

Chris noticed her looking. "What?"

"Sorry." She smiled looking a touch embarrassed at being caught looking. "Sometimes, to pass the time when I travel I like to play a games with myself. I look at people and try to size them up. See if I can figure them out. Who they are, what they do." She replied smugly.

"And?" He pressed feeling a little awkward that she had been watching him. He wondered what her motive was.

Anne grinned again trying to get over her embarrassment at being caught looking at him. But now she was on the spot to answer. She cleared her throat and turned a little to face him more. "You're outward appearance, makes you look outdoorsy and a little rugged, but you're attending some sort of research meeting which suggests university education, likely in science...maybe biology. But your hands look like the hands of someone who works with them. My guess is your a field researcher of some kind. The fact that you travel around the world makes it some kind of global study, maybe ocean related or migratory animal related. Am I getting close?"

Chris decided to be bold and put his hand on her fore arm and tried to look like he was concentrating. "Yeah, I think you're getting warm." He grinned, taking his hand back feeling a little awkward at his lame attempt at humour.

"Sorry, I'm being too forward." She answered.

"It's okay." He replied. "I don't mind really. It's a long flight and it's nice to talk to someone."

"Thank you." She replied.

In spite of spilling on herself, this woman was intimidating to Chris and it showed. At least he thought it did. She was young, pretty, and judging by her cloths she was successful. Which probably meant she was smart. That put her in a league that seemed far out of his reach. Possibly a league outside of his universe. If he could get through this flight without making a complete fool of himself he'd call it a success.

"What is it you do, that allows you to travel?" She inquired.

Chris snapped out of his wool gathering quickly. "Oh, uhh, I work for an independent wildlife organization that monitors patterns and changes in wildlife around the world. Their influences and effects. The data we collect goes to several other organizations for independent analysis and the results wind up going to various groups, governments, and sometimes even the UN. Basically anyone whose interested in assessing the state of our world environment and wants to know what's happening and how to change or protect it, can have access to it."

"So you're helping to protect the world?" She flashed a smile at him again.

Chris shrugged his shoulders. "Indirectly maybe." He found that he liked that smile and wished he could see more. He looked at her a little closer and tried to size her up as well. She was a bit of a mystery. If you looked hard at her she might only be twenty years old. She had a very youthful pretty face. But if you went by the way she dressed, acted, spoke, and carried herself you'd think she was a sophisticated thirty-five something. She was very bright. Her cloths looked expensive and well tailored. "That was obvious", he scolded himself. She's in fashion. She wore only a little makeup around her eyes and on her lips and didn't try to hide the freckles across her nose and cheeks. It gave her a look that was very refined but at the same time had an innocence that was very natural. She was beautiful. And that alone intimidated him.

She questioned him more on his job and they talked for a while on various subjects relating to it. She seemed interested in his thoughts and opinions of the various issues pertaining to them.

Chris was impressed by her knowledge of everything they discussed. She seemed much more informed about environmental issues in the world than most people. They discussed everything from birds of Antarctica to the polar bears of the Arctic and everything that walked, flew or swam in between. They talked about disappearing species of plants and wildlife around the world and their effects on the human populations. Not only did she have a firm grasp on environmental issues but also the involvement of various governments. For a woman involved in fashion, Chris was blown away.

He was staring at her hard when she finally stopped talking to notice. She looked at him questioningly. "Did I say something wrong?"

"No. More like too many things right." Chris squinted at her just a little. "Explain to me how a woman working in fashion is so incredibly knowledgeable about politics, environmental issues, and global economics."

She grinned a little sheepishly as her eyes evaded him. "Fashion has allowed me to travel. When I travel, I like to learn." She replied succinctly, looking back up into his eyes.

"Oh, I think there's more to it than that." Chris probed with a grin.

Ann flashed him that smile again. "A girl's allowed to have a few secrets, isn't she?

"I guess..." Chris chuckled to himself and accepted her answer for now, but he knew there was a lot more to this woman than she was letting on. One didn't become that well educated in world issues by hanging out at fashion shows. And given what he'd seen of her so far, he really wanted to spend the time with her to find out what secrets she had. She was fascinating.

Jackie interrupted then, with coffee, juice and muffins. Chris all but inhaled his muffin he was so hungry, but felt a little ashamed afterwords as he watched Anne from the corner of his eye. She delicately pulled her muffin piece by piece, smeared it with a dab of margarine and ate it with all the refinement and etiquette of someone having high tea with the Queen.

It made him feel a bit low class, but it wasn't her fault he conceded. He wasn't used to being around people with her level of refinement. He was also impressed by how fast she figured out his line of work but also a bit embarrassed that his lack of manners may have contributed to that conclusion. He decided it wasn't worth letting it bother him. He wondered what it was that made him feel so inadequate around her and yet every action and word she spoke was one of acceptance. His own insecurities were getting to him. Besides that, he noted, she had done several things now that had embarrassed herself, yet she plowed on with confidence and didn't let it get her down. She just rolled with it. He admired that about her. It wasn't so much that she had a strong sense of confidence as it was the ability to just accept the situation at hand, deal with it and not panic. He smiled to himself. This woman could teach him a few things and he thought he'd like to the time to learn from her.

Chris took a deep breath and let it out. He reached up to the monitor on the back of the seat in front of him and began flipping through the in-flight entertainment for distraction. The screen was glitchy and kept flickering as he cycled through the shows listed. A couple times it cut out completely and he had to restart. He thought of calling the attendant, Jackie, but what could she do? In the end he gave up and pulled out his laptop, setting it on the tray in front of him. He spent the next three quarters of an hour reviewing reports for work, and made sure a couple others of his own were complete, before deciding he wasn't in the mood to work and began flipping through files looking for a movie on his laptop to watch.

Chris scrolled through all the movies he had. He'd seen them all while on his last trip working in the field and hadn't had the time to add any new ones since he'd got back. Nothing seemed to strike his interest. Getting something new to watch would be a priority after his meeting tomorrow. After a minute or two of indecision, one title further down the list caught his eye and he hit "Enter".

On screen, a yellow taxi rolled up to the curb of Tiffany's to the tune of "Moon River" and Audrey Hepburn stepped out looking glamorous in black dress and heels. It was one of his favourites. He had tried to watch it first night out on his last trip in the field but got teased rather harshly about it by some of his less than sensitive coworkers, for being a romance movie, so he'd shut it off and hadn't watched it since. On the plane though, he didn't care. He didn't know anyone on the plane and didn't have to live, breathe, and work with them in confined spaces for the next three months. Besides, he thought, the movie was a classic and Audrey was just plain gorgeous.

The movie had only just begun when he noticed the book Anne had been reading was in her lap and she was watching the screen intently. He pulled his ear buds out and hit pause. "Would you like to watch?"

Anne looked up with grin. "Do you mind? I don't mean to intrude."

"It's alright. It's hardly an inconvenience. Just plug in." Chris slid his laptop over, angling it so she could see better, and pointed out the second ear phone port.

Anne's grin turned to an excited smile as she reached down into her bag and pulled out her ear phones and plugged in.

Chris looked at her and couldn't help smiling back.

Before he hit 'Play' Anne caught his look. "What?" She questioned, suddenly feeling self conscious.

"Sorry. Just enjoying your look of excitement. You've seen it before, obviously?"

"Yes, a few times." Anne admitted with a timid smile. "My sister and I love watching old movies together. This is one of our favourites. I'm a little embarrassed to admit how many times I've seen it. It's just a film I love."

"Well that's one thing we've got." He smirked at her.

Catching the music reference, Anne began laughing at him. "Oh my god, that's so cheesy it's funny."

"Sorry I couldn't resist." He countered as he resumed the movie.

A little while into the movie, while Mr Yunioshi was protesting the noise from Ms. Golightly's apartment, the flight attendants came by serving hot food.

Both Chris and Anne continued to watch as they dug in to their food, both absorbed in the film. Neither took notice when the flight attendants took away the empty dishes but a little while later both accepted a glass of red wine to sip.

When the movie ended, Chris noted it was dark in the plane. It was dark outside. The crew had dimmed the lights and many of the passengers had settled in to sleep. Anne reclined in her seat with a very satisfied contented look. She looked up to Chris and smiled again. "Thank you." She whispered. "That one always gives me warm feelings."

"You're welcome. I don't often find people who like to watch these old films with me." He responded.

As Anne looked at him, she was overcome with a yawn. She covered her mouth and apologized afterwords, "Excuse me, I'm sorry Chris but I think I'd better get a little rest. I was struggling to stay awake towards the end."

"Yeah, me too." Was all he said. She settled back and closed her eyes. Chris put his laptop away, plugged his ear buds into his phone to put some music on and closed his eyes. Before he hit play, he could tell by her breathing that Anne was already sleeping peacefully.

It was maybe about a half hour later that he awoke to a nudge on his shoulder and opened his eyes. It was dark and quiet in the cabin and most people were sleeping by now. Anne had slumped over in her sleep and was resting her head on his shoulder. He didn't quite know what to do. On one hand he really didn't mind. She was pretty, and being this close he noticed she smelled good too. He wondered if she'd be offended in some way if she knew he didn't wake her. He decided he should probably lean her the other way but he wanted a pillow for her first, to support her head. Reaching up he pushed the call button and as Jackie returned he quietly requested a pillow and blanket.

Jackie smiled back and retrieved both items from the overhead. Chris quietly thanked her as he took the items. He set the pillow in his lap so he could spread the blanket out over Anne but as he did so, his shoulders shifted and Anne slid slowly down, lying her head on the pillow in his lap without waking. He chucked at the irony and humour if it. His plan had backfired.

Resigned, Chris laid the blanket on her and faced his next awkward problem. "There is a strange woman sleeping in my lap," he thought to himself. "Do I wake her or let her sleep? If I let her sleep will she be upset that I didn't wake her? Am I overthinking this and being silly about it all?" He honestly didn't know what to do about it. But again, he really didn't mind, he was just concerned about how she'd feel once she woke.

He decided finally to let her sleep. She'd probably wake up just enough to reposition and not notice anyway. Chris laid his head back and closed his eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two.**

 **Hands.**

Anne awoke, but kept her eyes closed feeling warm and cozy. She felt a warm hand on her waist and without thinking, reached over and interlocked her fingers into the hand and smiled to herself in comfort.

Reality suddenly kicked in when the hand didn't quite feel right in hers and she remembered she was on a plane and not on the couch at home with her sister. Panic set in when she understood that that meant she was holding hands with the guy sitting next to her. And sleeping in his lap! "Oh my!" She blurted, as her eyes popped open, slowly letting go of the hand. Carefully, she sat up in the quiet darkened cabin and looked at Chris who, thankfully, still had his eyes closed. She looked around to see who, if anyone, had been watching. Her face flushed with embarrassment. Thankfully most people were sleeping still. She checked her watch. She'd been asleep for a couple hours.

Anne looked at the pillow, then the blanket, and then again at Chris who appeared to still be asleep. Between waves of embarrassment, a stray thought about how cute he looked sleeping there, worked its way through her. She put a hand over her mouth. "Oh my, what have I done," she whispered to herself. Leaning foreword, she rested her elbows on her knees and shook her head. She put her head in her hands and sighed to herself as the heat of embarrassment washed over her again.

She was staring at her feet, trying to figure out what to do, when she heard the soft voice beside her whisper "It's okay."

With her hands still on her face, she peeked between her fingers at Chris and felt the embarrassment wash over her once more. "I'm sorry." She whispered, putting her hands down. "I didn't mean to...well," She held a hand open to his lap. "...sorry. And the hands. Oh my." She cringed. "I thought...oh never mind. I'm sorry."

"You thought what?" He pressed gently.

"I thought..." She sighed again. "Remember when I said I watch movies with my sister?" Chris nodded. "We often snuggle up on the sofa together. When I awoke, I..." She let out a long breath of embarrassment.

"You were groggy and thought you were with her. It's alright Anne. Really." A little more diffidently he continued, "I didn't mind. Actually I should be apologizing to you for not waking you. I allowed you to put yourself in this situation. I should have woke you. I'm sorry, you just..." He hung his head feeling stupid again. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" She looked at him.

"For doing something that made you feel bad. I could have...should have prevented it by waking you. You probably think I'm some sort of creep letting you sleep in my lap." He shook his head again looking down as he too felt his face flush.

Anne sighed, relaxing finally. She looked up at him. "You're not a creep. The pillow and the blanket, it was sweet of you. Kind of cliche in an old fashioned movie sort of way, but sweet." She smiled taking his hand in hers and gave it a squeeze. "Thank you again. I seem to be embarrassing myself a lot on this trip. You've been very nice to me." She sighed again.

Chris looked up shrugging his shoulders, grinned and gave her his best 'Aww shucks' look. Anne chuckled at him. He also noted she was still holding his hand.

He looked down at their hands and she caught the look too and began smiling.

Jackie came by just then, seeing that they were both awake, and asked quietly, "Would you two like anything to drink? Water, juice...?"

"Water, please." Anne replied.

Jackie disappeared and returned with a glass of water for her. Anne was grateful for the ice Jackie had put in the water.

Anne grinned at Chris and on a whim let go of him and pulled out her phone. She turned it on and handed it to Jackie. "Would you take a picture for us?"

Jackie smiled back, taking the phone. Anne almost couldn't believe she was doing this but she leaned back into Chris pulling his arm around her waist in a bold move and smiled as Jackie took the shot. Chris barely had time to keep up with what was happening, but managed to smile for the photo anyway.

"Thank you." Anne smiled politely, retrieving her phone and sitting back up. Chris retrieved his arm.

"You two are such a cute couple." Jackie shook her head as she left.

Anne giggled at the comment, but Chris was still at a loss at what was happening. Anne showed him the photo grinning. "You know, she is right. We are kind of cute together." She teased.

"Are you flirting with me, or just trying to tease me?" he grinned back.

"Oh, you know, maybe a bit of both." She bit her lip and grinned. "Do you want me to send you a copy of this to your phone?" She held up the photo.

"Alright." He grinned back, pulling out his phone. As he flipped it on, Chris stopped suddenly and stared at her.

"What?" She asked.

"You are good at this!"

"What?" Anne protested.

"That is, hands down, the slyest, sneakiest way to get a guys number that I have ever seen!" Chris gaped at her.

Anne did her best to look innocent. "Do you want the photo or not?"

He grinned back at her. "Only if I can call you sometime."

"Deal." She smiled back. Chris typed his number into her phone and let her hit send. "I'm sorry it won't go through until we land. No signal over the Atlantic."

As he put his phone away, Anne did likewise. She pulled the blanket back up, leaned back into Chris, put her head back on his shoulder and pulled his arm around her waist again, snuggling into him. "Is this okay?" She whispered. Anne kicked off her shoes and scrunched her feet up on the seat beside her.

"I don't know." He teased back. "You're not just using me for a surrogate sister are you? Or am I just another airline pillow to you?"

Anne began to giggle at him. "Maybe. Maybe not." She teased back.

They were quiet for a minute before Chris spoke. "Tell me something about yourself Anne." He asked.

"What do you want to know?"

"I don't know. Tell me about where you live. Tell me about your sister. Tell me something to get to know you better."

"My sister and I live in a small farming community called Rykene. It's south west of Oslo near the city of Arendal. We have some land there, surrounding our home that we lease out to some of our neighbours to farm. Our land backs onto the Nidelva river. It's very pretty. My sister and I used to swim in the side pools of it as children but it's very cold."

"What's her name?"

"Elise. Her name is Elise. She's my older sister. She's a bit of a corporate business tycoon. We have a company in Oslo that we own and run together. I prefer to work in the background staying under the radar but she likes to be in the thick of things. Likes to be in control. Sometimes I think she needs to just cut loose and relax a bit more. Have a little more fun." Anne smiled to herself. "Spend a little more time with her family and friends. A little less with work. I don't see her much these days"

She gave a half hearted smile, but there was a far away look in her eyes. He could tell there was more to what she was saying. There was both love and hurt in her words.

"You get along well with her?" He asked.

"Yes. We do. Oh, we have our differences now and again, we're sisters after all, but we take care of each other. I love her. She loves me."

"Is she as pretty as you?" He asked as calmly as he could, trying to lighten the mood.

Anne sat up looking at him with a grin. "That was pretty smooth."

"Not to bad eh?" He grinned back. "Occasionally I can slip a good line in."

She snuggled back down on his shoulder. "In answer to your question, yes. She's very pretty. At least I think so. Maybe it's just little sister envy." She giggled to herself.

"Have you lived there long?" He inquired trying to steer the discussion back on track. "You don't seem the farming type.

"We're not. But yes, I've lived there all my life. It was my parents home, and before that, my grandparents. If Elise or I ever marry and have children I suppose it will be passed on to them. We don't farm but we like to garden. We keep a lot of flower gardens around the property. It's sort of been a tradition that's passed down from my grandmother. Elise and I try to keep it up, although she doesn't have a lot of time for it. Mostly we hire a gardener to tend it." She yawned.

"It sounds beautiful." He commented.

"Hmmm." Anne confirmed quietly. "It is." She was getting sleepy again and her mind was wandering. Talking about home was making her homesick. She lay quietly in her thoughts, going through her house and gardens in her mind. Letting memories of home, both good and bad flood her consciousness. In a short while she was peacefully asleep. Chris happily followed her into slumber.

Anne awoke to a soft nudging. She opened her eyes slowly and sat up from Chris's lap, where she'd been sleeping. Jackie was there waking her.

"I'm sorry to wake you dear but we'll be landing in Oslo in a few minutes. If you could wake your friend, stow your things and put your seat up please." Jackie spoke softly.

"Thank you." Anne replied between yawns. As Jackie turned to wake a couple other passengers, Anne turned to Chris. "Hey, sleepy." She patted his knee a couple times, before nudging his shoulder.

Chris opened his eyes and was happy Anne was still there. It wasn't all a dream. She had a sleepy smile on her face that he found adorable.

"Hey, we're landing." She said, buckling up.

Chris stowed his things and prepared for landing. It was pretty uneventful. No champagne this time. The sun was almost rising and he could make out the outline of the city in the early dawn haze. They set down smoothly and taxied to the terminal. Everyone was eager to get off the plane but Chris found, for the first time in his life, he really didn't want to leave. He really enjoyed his time with Anne. There was something about her he couldn't place. He liked being with her. Yeah, she was cute, but it went beyond that. He found himself wishing the flight was another eight hours just to he could spend more time getting to know her. But the flight was over and it all ended, sadly, as Anne stood and collected her things.

Chris followed her down the aisle to exit the plane. As they got to the door, Jackie and another stewardess were there bidding everyone farewell. "Goodbye Anne. Thank you for flying with us." She beamed shaking Anne's hand.

"Thank you." Anne replied. "It was entertaining."

Jackie leaned in, still holding Anne's hand and pointing at Chris, "I'm sorry, but if I may...can I ask...how long have you two have been together...? A couple years at least?"

Anna looked at her with a surprised smile. "You're good! How'd you know?"

Jackie just shrugged and smiled. "It shows."

"Thank you for everything." Anne smiled. "Come on sweetheart, we gotta go." She took a surprised Chris by the hand and led him out.

When they were out of earshot of the planes crew, Chris turned to her. "What was that all about? Two years? We just met."

Anne let go of his hand and laughed again. "Two things. First, it made her, Jackie I mean, feel good about herself. She wanted to guess how long we'd been together. She guessed two years. If I'd said 'No you're wrong', she'd probably feel disappointed and put down that she was wrong. By saying yes it made her feel good about herself. What does it hurt anyone. We'll likely never see her again."

"You mean you don't know her? I thought she was a friend of yours. The way you talked to her, you knew her name when we got on the plane?" He looked at her with surprise.

"Nope. I just heard her name when I was boarding."

Chris shook his head laughing.

"What?" She questioned his laughter. "I like calling people by name. Especially when you've just met. It makes them feel important, like they've made an impression on you. Makes them feel good."

"You like making people feel good don't you?" Chris looked at her. "Why?"

"Why did you use Gwen's name when you were boarding?" She countered rhetorically.

She had him there, although Chris had to admit he'd never put that much thought into it. It just seemed polite or respectful to use her name. His next thought surprised him. How did she know he used Gwen's name when boarding? Had she been watching him?

Anne answered anyway. "Because it's empowering for them, makes their day just a little bit better, and in the end it makes me feel good. Makes me feel like I've helped the world in my own small way. Happiness can be infectious. But so can negativity. Which world do you want to live in?"

"Okay, you got me there. So what's the second thing?" Chris questioned. "You said there was two things to what Jackie said."

Anne blushed a little and walked on making Chris hurry to catch up.

"Well?" he pushed.

As they exited the hallway into the terminal she pulled him aside from the stream of people exiting the plane. "She thought we were good together. So much so, that Jackie thought we'd been together for over two years." She paused grinning at him. Her eyes danced up and down revealing her nervousness.

He dared to let a smile creep across his face as the realization of her train of thought took hold.

"Wanna find out if she's right?" She grinned back.

Those glacial blue eyes burned through him with a power he'd never felt before. He felt naked and exposed. Helpless to do anything but smile at her. It took every bit of strength to stop himself from looking like a stupid teenager with his mouth hanging open in surprise. Forming words suddenly became difficult. His mouth was dry. She waited for an answer.

He felt like an idiot. One of the most delightfully beautiful women he'd ever met, just asked him out and all he had to do was say one word. One word. He began to laugh.

She looked at him with a questioning smile. "Well? Are you going to leave me hanging?"

"I'm sorry." He chuckled. "You kind of caught me off guard with that." He turned serious for a moment looking into her eyes "But I guess I should have expected it. I'm sorry Anne, but I don't think that there's any possible way..." he paused. Her smile faded and she looked down, but he continued, "...that I could ever say no to you."

She looked up in surprise to find his face inches from her own staring back at her. His eyes were a beautiful green she noted.

"You're amazing." He whispered.

Her face lit up with a grin. Putting a hand on his cheek she closed the distance and did what she had been dying to do for hours. It was soft, gentle, and just a little bit moist. Perhaps a bit more brief than she wanted but it left her wanting more. For a first kiss, it was pretty damn good. It ended abruptly though, when Anne's bag slipped from her fingers, hitting the ground with a thud, and startling them both. They both pulled back and laughed a bit awkwardly.

As she looked up, Anne saw the flight crew exiting the hall and Jackie was in the middle smiling at her. She gave Anne a wink and waved. Anne blushed, grinning, and waved back. She turned and looked back into those green eyes.

"Well...?" He questioned.

"Well what?" She too felt like a little school girl, shy and awkward all of a sudden. She didn't know how to stand, where to put her hands. Why the heck was that even important?

"Where do we go from here? Our flight is done. We have lives to go to." He smiled.

"We figure it out. Together. We're good together, remember?" She joked. "Just ask anyone on the plane."

"Dinner tonight?" He asked.

"No. I'm sorry, I can't." Her eyes betrayed her disappointment with herself. "I'm having dinner with friends. I'd invite you but it's not my place so I don't feel right about it. Sorry. Tomorrow?" She asked.

"I can't. I'm having dinner with some if my associates. How 'bout the day after?" He chuckled.

"That works." She said simply.

"The day after." He confirmed. "Thank you."

"For what?" She questioned quietly.

"For making me feel good." He smiled at her.

Anne smiled back and looked down with her hands still on his chest. She took a breath and stepped back. "Call me." She pressed a business card to his chest and wrote something on the back before slipping into his breast pocket and padding it. "Just in case." She slipped a hand behind his head, pulled him in and kissed him. Hard. His world began to spin.

Anne kept her face close to his when their lips parted and let out a deep breath. Looking into his eyes she gave him one more quick peck before picking up her bag and turned to leave.

Chris leaned back against the wall and watched her walk away. She turned once flashing him that smile he loved so much, waved and blew him a kiss before she was gone. He sighed considering all that happened in the last several hours. He felt like collapsing on the floor, he suddenly realized his legs were shaking and he was sweating.

It was hard to believe this was happening. He'd often heard his coworkers regale tales of their pick up conquests, one night stands and the like. That just wasn't him. He'd never asked anyone out without getting to know them at least a little bit first. He wasn't that type of guy nor did he usually have the confidence to move so quickly on someone. But, he reasoned, if one were to argue the point, it was Anne that made the first move anyways, perhaps accidentally and amongst some subtle flirting. But one could argue it was she that picked him up. That thought led him to another unsettled thought. Was she one of these types that picked up men all the time? Was he just the next conquest for her? Although he didn't really know for certain, it didn't seem likely. That wasn't the personality he saw on the plane. It was silly paranoid thoughts like this that always plagued him. A beautiful woman found him attractive and wanted his number. Therefore there must be something wrong with her, right?

Chris cleared his mind and decided he was overthinking this. She was a nice girl. All he had to do was play it out and see where it leads. Give her the benefit of the doubt. "Don't ruin it before it's even started." he told himself.

Chris took a few minutes to catch his breath and then worked his way through customs, collected his luggage and exited the airport. He flagged a cab, and after some rough translating and pointing to a hotel on a map, the cabby delivered him to his new residence for the next few days.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3. Distractions**

Chris checked in to his hotel, and having only a couple small bags, he skipped the elevator and opted for the stairs. He noted all the antiques decorating the lobby and halls. History had always fascinated him. And the history here was so much older. Back home you might find things from the early settlers that could be a couple hundred years old. But here, you could find things going back five hundred to a thousand years or more, just lying around a hotel for decoration. He marvelled at the items as he climbed the stairs.

Chris settled into his room on the top floor. He had a few hours before he had to leave for the conference and needed a little shut-eye. It was about 5:00 am local time. As he pulled his shirt off, a business card fell from the pocket to the floor. Chris picked it up and read it. "Elan Enterprises." There was an Oslo address listed below and the name "Anne Brekke" along with a phone number. "Design Consultant & Public Relations Manager." Something about the name seemed familiar. He couldn't place it. It wasn't someone he knew or had even heard of. It was like something obscure out of his childhood that he'd forgotten. He flipped the card over to read what she'd written on the back but it was written in Norwegian. It was a tease. She knew he didn't read Norwegian and would probably have to ask someone to translate it. Maybe it was time to learn. He stowed that thought, put the card down on the table for now, showered and went to bed.

At breakfast, a couple hours later, Chris found himself staring at something on the menu and being annoyed at having to look up every word for translation. With that thought, he downloaded a language app to his phone. He began learning on the taxi ride in to the conference and was still lost in the Norse language zone when he walked into the office.

"Chris, my boy. Good morning."

Chris looked up from his phone. "Hey Jeff. How'd the resolution go on the Chilean study last night?" They shook hands as they headed down the hall to the conference rooms. Jeff was at least fifteen, maybe twenty years older than Chris and had been a field researcher all his life. He'd been everywhere. He lived for the remote outdoors and stereotypically looked the part. He had a slim build with long grey hair tied back in a ponytail, Hawaiian shirt, blue jeans, sandals and a cup of coffee in one hand to round off the stereotype. He was what you might call a 'free spirit', but he was one of the best researchers Chris had ever met and had been a great mentor when Chris first started.

"Not bad, not too bad. Couple more government hoops to jump through and we're golden. I gotta tell ya man, that new girl Dan hired, Ms. Dazen, she's like magic on the phone with the government official types. Cuts through the red tape with a chainsaw. I like her."

Chris chuckled at him. "You just like looking at her, you perv."

"Ha ha, you got me there. Noth'n wrong with look'n." Jeff laughed.

"Dirty old man. She's half your age. Maybe a quarter." Chris teased him.

"Yeah, you got my number." Jeff laughed at him. "So when's Dan gonna team you and me up again for some serious research? Like studying the effects of sun on the bikini clad women of Cancun. I think it would take at least a few months of serious study."

"Getting tired of the rotting jungles and frozen wastelands are you? Too much glamour for you to handle?"

Jeff didn't answer but had an odd look on his face.

"You're not thinking of getting out are you? Retiring from the good life?" Chris asked.

"I don't know, man. I'm get'n old, you know?"

"When?" Chris looked surprised.

"Don't worry, couple years maybe." Jeff replied with his usual happy grin.

"Can I have your desk?" Chris chuckled at him.

"Yeah sure. I'll put your name on it later today." Jeff laughed back. It was a standing joke among them. In their work, the outdoors was their office, and anywhere you could put your notebook down was your desk. "Hey, do you guys know where you're heading next?"

"No. And it doesn't look hopeful. Margaret had something lined up but I think the funding fell through. Problems with the sponsors and their political views on the countries government that we were heading into. You know, same old song and dance. We'll be assessing a few other options tomorrow."

Jeff opened the door to his conference room. "Yeah, we've all had that happen a time or two. Or ten." He looked up at Chris a little more seriously. "Are you sticking around here for a few days after the conference?"

"Yeah, I thought I'd do a little sight seeing before I headed home. Why?"

"Janice and Juan are here too." He stated sombrely.

"What day?" Chris asked checking his phone. "Damn. I almost forgot. Thursday?"

"Yeah. Thursday. I send you the location after I talk to them. I'll catch you later." He walked in leaving Chris in the hall.

Chris wandered down the hall to his own room and took a chair at the table amongst his colleagues. He pulled out his laptop and began reading through notes but after several paragraphs he found he had no idea what he'd just read. His mind was on a plane somewhere with a very attractive woman with reddish blond hair.

He took out his phone and pulled up the picture Anne had sent him. His heart began beating faster at the sight of her.

"...Mr. Hansen...Chris, you here or are still lost in the wilderness."

Chris jolted out of his fantasy looking around the room. Everyone was looking at him. "Sorry, what was that?"

"Do you have the funding reports and proposals that I sent you?" Margaret asked.

"Uh, yeah. Right here." With a few keystrokes he pulled them up on his computer and then plugged it into the overhead projector for everyone to see.

"You okay Chris?" Margaret asked.

"Yeah, sorry, just a little off my game from that last flight."

Margaret was a sweet woman in her late forties that had been with the company a long time. She was like a mother to most of the people she worked with. She was the type who went out of her way to see that everyone was taken care of who worked under her.

Margaret smiled and then resumed speaking to the group. It was a partial truth Chris told, but one that would keep them from asking questions. Jumping all over the world the way they did, they all understood how flights and time zones messed with your bodies internal clock and sleep patterns.

The rest of the day went pretty much the same. More than a few times he caught himself thinking about Anne instead if on his work. It was odd for him. He loved his work. Presenting his findings and planning for new research was always exciting for him but this time around he didn't seem to have a lot of interest. He did his best to get through the day.

They broke for lunch at noon which was a simple affair of soup and sandwiches catered by the the conference hall. Following that they buried themselves in work for the next few hours before calling it a day. Chris was relieved to get out and get some fresh air. Sitting all day indoors was painful when you were used to being outside. The jet lag made it even worse.

On the way out, Jeff caught Chris and invited him for dinner with a couple other people he knew. They caught a cab to a water front restaurant with an open patio. When they arrived, Margaret was already there sitting with a few others. Most notably from Jeff's standpoint was the very young and attractive Miss Kaitlyn Dazen.

"Hey Chris,". Margaret spoke up. "Want a beer?" She held up a pitcher.

"Yeah, sure. Thanks." He reached across the table pushing his glass over to her.

"Chris, I know you've seen her around, but I don't know if you've been formally introduced yet." Margaret nodded to Kaitlyn as she poured the beer and handed back the glass. "This is Kaitlyn Dazen. And over here, you remember Marcus Durough and Ahmed Mulander."

Chris stood and reached out a hand shaking each one successively. He had met Marcus a couple times before and Ahmed once last year at a convention.

Kaitlyn spoke up first. "Nice to finally meet you, Chris."

"Finally?" Chris chuckled. He turned to look at Jeff. "Have you been bad mouthing me again?"

Jeff threw his hands in the air in a plead of innocence. "I...ahh...umm...never." He grinned mischievously.

To his relief, Margaret cut in. "Sorry Chris, we were just discussing some of the good work you do."

"Thank you." He replied.

Chris found an empty seat and settled in between Marcus and Kaitlyn. He had just begun talking to Marcus when he overheard Jeff begin to put whatever moves he could on Kaitlyn.

"So what was a nice girl like you doing anyplace without me?" Jeff inquired.

"Why? Do you need a baby sitter? Old age getting to you?" Kaitlyn responded with a sarcastic wit.

Margaret was laughing. Ahmed spoke up then. "I think you've just been cut off at the knees my friend."

"Yes, I'd quit while you can, Jeff, before she cuts you off some place you'll really regret." Marcus chided him.

Jeff continued to grin at Kaitlyn. He'd just been shot down but he was always up for a challenge. It was all in good fun anyway. "So your into masochism? A little kinkier then I'm used to, but alright." He stared into her eyes. "Something tells me that any amount of pain from you would be worth it."

"Oooh. Charming too." Kaitlyn teased.

"So, Kaitlyn, what did you do before joining this motley band of hooligans?" Chris asked her to change the subject. He'd seen Jeff tease and flirt with women before and although it could be humorous, sometimes he'd just didn't have the patience to witness it.

"I worked for an accounting firm that did corporate financial audits."

"Financial audits? How did you get into travel and logistics with us?" Marcus asked.

"I spent several years working with a travel agency before that. Part of that involved researching tours in various parts of the world which meant I got to travel as well and get a feel for how things worked." She smiled back.

Kaitlyn continued talking with Marcus about places they'd been, difficulties in negotiating boarder entries and the like. Being a former accountant himself, their conversation eventual led to the accounting realm that left everyone else looking for something a little more exciting, like a funeral maybe.

Chris kind of lost track of the conversation as his mind was drawn back to the same redhead that he'd been thinking of all day. He was pulled out of his fantasy when he noticed Margaret was waving to him to get his attention.

"You seem a little more distracted than normal Chris. Is everything okay?" Margaret asked. Jeff too seemed concerned with Margaret's question.

Chris smiled a little nervously, wondering what to say. "I'm alight Marg. I guess I have been a little distracted by something. Or more accurately I guess...someone." He grinned.

Margaret picked up on it first and grinned at him. "What's her name?"

Chris shrugged and looked a little shy and embarrassed.

"Christopher my boy." Jeff suddenly caught on. "Is she cute? Details man. Details."

Chris laughed at him staring into his beer. "Yes. She's very cute. I met her yesterday on the plane. We kind of hit it off I guess. Her name is Anne."

"What's she look like?" Jeff prodded.

"God Jeff you're so shallow sometimes." Margaret chided him. "All you care about is looking at cute young girls."

"And you know perfectly well, my dear, that's why I can't take my eyes off of you." Jeff stared at Margaret batting his eyelashes.

"Careful, this old woman might just take you home tonight." Margaret flirted back.

Chris handed Margaret his phone with the picture of him and Anne snuggled together on the plane. A smile grew across her face. "Oh Chris. She's beautiful. Way to go. I can see now why you had that vacant look in your eyes all day long. Is she a nice girl?"

Jeff was standing up, leaning over to see but Margaret covered the picture and glared at him until he sat down.

"Yes. She very nice. Smart, well educated, and very knowledgeable about the environment and world economics."

"Really?" Margaret looked surprised. "What does she do?"

"Works in fashion." Chris threw out that answer just to see their looks.

"Fashion?" Margaret looked surprised now. "Fashion? Only you Chris, could find someone in fashion who has an education and passion for the environment." She smiled softly at him. "Well, good luck with her Chris. I hope it works out for you." She said sincerely. She passed the phone to Jeff.

"Holy handbells of Hera, Chris! She's stunning." Jeff was almost drooling.

"Jeez, Jeff. Put your tongue back in your head. You're get'n the table wet." Margaret scolded him.

"When can I meet her? More importantly, when can I steal her from you?" Jeff teased.

"I don't know. I'll see if she can join us next Thursday."

"Ahh, that's my good boy Chris." Jeff smirked at him. "Bring'n a girl home to your old man for approval."

"More like perusal". Margaret snapped back.

"Aww Marg, you know I've only got eyes for you."

"Yeah, until the next cute ass walks by." Margaret countered. "One of these days, Jeff, it's going to bite you in the ass."

Jeff just smiled back at her. "As long as you're doing the biting, my dear..." He grinned.

Jeff was a constant flirt with women. It didn't matter if they were eighteen or eighty. He just lived the fun of it. And it was all in good fun. He carried on with Margaret for a while and Chris eventually lost interest in it. He kept thinking of Anne.

After dinner, he stuck around for a couple more rounds of drinks before bidding goodnight and catching a cab back to his hotel. Once in bed, he fell asleep staring at the picture of Anne and himself.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4. Before the day after.**

Chris awoke to the obnoxious beeping of the hotel alarm clock. He really hated hotel alarms. He could never get them set to turn on quietly. He dressed, packed his laptop and headed out to find some breakfast and a taxi.

He was just finishing breakfast when a text showed up form Anne. "I'm free this afternoon. Can you join me for tea?"

Chris smiled as he replied back. She was all he could think of all day yesterday and he didn't think he could wait until dinner tomorrow night to see her again. He was certain she would occupy his thoughts most of today as well. "I'm free after 2:30." He texted back.

"Meet you in front of your hotel." Anne responded.

Fortunately the day seemed to fly by quickly for him. Chris finished most of the debriefing from his research trip that morning. After a lunch of charbroiled fish and beer at a nearby pub, with a couple other field researchers and one of the analysts, they discussed the possibilities of new contracts in the coming weeks. Finding new contracts and figuring out where in the world they might end up was always exciting. But for the first time since...ever, Chris found it difficult to focus on any of it. As he had anticipated, an amber red head seemed to be everywhere in his mind.

As soon as the last meeting was over he headed straight for the door.

"Where's the fire?" Jeff chided him.

"Nowhere." Chris winked at him. "Yet." He grinned and slipped out the door to hail a cab.

They met mid afternoon outside Chris's hotel along the promenade.

His hotel shared the same name as the street it was on. The Karl Johann. They were named for a former king or something, Chris figured out. It also had something to do with the street ending at the royal palace a few blocks down, but Chris hadn't had the time yet to see it or go exploring. The street was a divided street with a wide pedestrian walkway, or promenade, in the middle that led a couple blocks east towards the palace. The walkway itself was probably wider than both streets put together. It was almost like a long narrow park with large overhanging trees and benches all along.

Chris was still wearing his shirt and tie from the conference which was one more reason why, he decided, he didn't like office work. He didn't exactly hate wearing ties, he just really disliked them. Formal clothing just made him feel uncomfortable or out of place.

Anne wore a white satin blouse with a snug fitting, brown leather jacket and a darker brown pair of leather pants that showed off her figure in a respectful but still sexy way. Being in fashion was obviously the right place for her, Chris noted, cause this woman knew how to dress. She looked high class but at the same time she didn't carry that 'nose in the air' attitude. She always seemed so approachable. She left her hair down hanging loose over her shoulders and he thought she looked simply stunning. She took his breath away.

"Hi," Anne smiled as she approached.

"Hey," Chris managed to stumble out grinning. He was finding it hard to speak but tried not to let it show.

She hugged him and kissed his cheek. Chris just looked at her for a few moment taking it all in.

"You alright, Chris?"

He was so nervous he was almost shaking. "Sorry, I just...wow. You look...nothing short of amazing. I..." He stumbled feeling self conscious. "Sorry, when I look at you, I'm just tongue tied. I can't speak." He looked sheepish and embarrassed as he wiped a hand across his forehead and though his hair. "God help me."

Anne covered a smile with her hand to suppress an awkward laugh. Then she leaned in close and kissed him softly. She let it linger for just a few seconds before pulling back and whispering in his ear, "Don't be intimidated. I feel the same way."

"Really? You look so calm and composed." Chris replied.

She moved back and took his hand and began leading him down the promenade. "Yeah, I've just had more practice." Anne stopped walking and put a hand on her forehead looking flustered. "Sorry. That came out wrong. I don't mean 'practice' as in...you know...men. I just..." She let out an anguished sigh.

Chris began to chuckle. "Would it help if I poured champagne on you?"

Anne chuckled a little. She let out another long breath before smiling back at him. "It might. It just might. Come." She took him by the arm and pulled him close before letting her hand slide down to lock her fingers with his. "We're not so different. You get tongue tied, I just blurt out stupid things to embarrass myself."

Chris wondered at her admission of being intimidated but let it go for now. They walked slowly together, hand in hand along the paving stones under a canopy of trees, enjoying the shade and the afternoon sunshine that occasionally broke through.

"So how was your conference?" She asked.

"It was good. Mostly dealing with a lot of reports and problems for upcoming research. Some interesting stuff, some dull stuff. I always loved the research side of the job, but the business side would drive me insane if I had to do it full time."

Anne smiled in agreement. "I know exactly what you mean. Elise loves big business and running the show. She thrives off it. Me, I'd rather be hiding in the back doing my thing. But I guess that's what makes us work together so well. If she was like me, we'd never have the business we have now."

Chris nodded in acknowledgement but he caught an odd look on her face. There was more to it than that. He dismissed it for the moment.

"It was good though to see some of my coworkers that I haven't seen in a while. We got some options for our next job in a few weeks that may prove interesting. We plan on hammering out the details tomorrow morning, submitting our input on destinations and then we'll see where it leads. How was your dinner with your friends?"

"It was very good, thank you. I'm staying with my friend, Lise. She and I went to school together. She finished university, got married, had children, and now is thinking of going back to work as a teacher. It was wonderful to spend time with her. We don't get to see each other much anymore, our lives are very busy, so I was happy to have a day to spend with her and her family."

They wandered lazily down the promenade with her arm tucked in his, through the pedestrians and tourists until it ended in a wide set of stairs leading up to the terrace in front of the royal palace. At the top was a statue of a military officer on a horse.

"Anne, I don't mean to pry, but is everything okay with you and your sister?"

"Yes. We're okay. I called her last night though and she seemed quite stressed at work and I got the impression things aren't going well with her boyfriend. The two are kind of related."

"Elise is related to her boyfriend? Isn't that a little weird?" Chris teased.

Anne laughed at him. "No, dummy! Her work and her boyfriend are related."

"Okay." He chuckled.

"Her boyfriend, Hans Isaksen, is the Vice President of our company. Personally I think it makes things a little awkward but Elise wanted him in the position and he really seemed eager to prove himself. He did pretty good at the start, but lately it seems his mind is elsewhere. It's hard to say."

"Do you like him?" Chris asked.

"Why?"

"I know it sound a bit cliche, but I've found that you need to learn to trust your gut feelings on things. It saved me many times. What's your gut feeling on Hans?"

Anne considered this for a minute. "When we first met, I kind of liked him. He's handsome and smart. But you're right. Inside the back of my mind there's always been that nagging little thought or feeling that makes me think somethings not right, but I can't put my finger on it. I've talked to him many times over dinner and drinks over the past year but I've never really felt completely comfortable around him." Anne paused as if deep in thought, remembering something.

Chris left it at that and didn't push any further.

They strolled on past the statue and headed to the right to circle around the palace. There were tourists everywhere walking about and taking pictures. The sides and back of the palace were surrounded by a very large public park. There were trees everywhere, paved trails, ponds, and of course people. People were sunning themselves, having picnics, walking, biking, doing pretty much everything people do in parks.

Chris and Anne walked around the back of the palace which contained a lovely courtyard that was fenced in with a tall iron fence that kept the public out.

Chris had his back to the courtyard and was looking across the park at all the people enjoying themselves when he heard Anne say something behind him. He turned to see a palace guard had appeared and handed her something, then opened the gate to the palace courtyard.

"Come." Anne held out a hand to him and led him in. The uniformed guard closed the gate behind them before disappearing into the palace. A few people eyed them as they entered. Chris thought one even took their picture. "Tourists!" He huffed to himself.

They were walking slowly around the stone pathways admiring the flowers when one of the palace staff approached. He spoke in Norwegian and Anne replied in quick succession. It was too quick for Chris to catch anything that was being said. The servant then gestured to a small cafe style table, that sat in the shade off to the side, before leaving.

"Come, sit with me." Anne led him to the table. They're bringing us tea and cake." Chris followed noting they were the only ones in the courtyard.

As she sat, she rested her elbows on the table, put her chin in her hands and just smiled up at him.

Chris pulled out his phone and snapped her picture. She looked too cute to pass up.

"Would you like me to pose somewhere for you?" Anne teased. She turned sideways, looking at him over her shoulder, sucked her cheeks in and pulled her hair up over her head mocking the poses she'd seen so many fashion models do.

Chris laughed at her. "You do that so well."

"Want to see me strut?" Anne stood up. "I'm good at that too."

"No. That's okay. Maybe later." Chris laughed. Underneath he had a moment of panic embarrassment with the attention Anne might be drawing, when it suddenly dawned on Chris that they were having tea in the royal palace. "Wait! How'd we get in here? Isn't this the Royal palace?"

"I phoned ahead. Made a reservation for us." She smiled back.

"You can do that? Just call up and say 'I want tea at the palace'?" He questioned.

Anne just shrugged. "We're here aren't we?"

Just then a couple palace servants returned with tea and cake served on silver platters. They very carefully set the table. Each item seamed to have a precise spot. When they were done they bowed and turned to leave. Anne spoke up then, saying something Chris didn't catch completely. He caught "thanks...kindness...delightful." His brief study of the language was starting to pay off but he had a long way to go.

The servants both bowed again to Anne and said something in return. They turned and retreated to where they came from.

"Dive in." Anne stabbed her cake with a fork.

"What did they say to you?" Chris asked skeptically.

"Oh, they just politely welcoming us."

"No, I distinctly caught a few words in there, like 'honoured' and 'here again'."

"You've been learning Norwegian. I'm impressed." She smiled at him.

"Yeah, it's something I wanted to talk to you about. You see, I kind of got myself into a position where I have to learn at least the basics of the language and I was hoping you could help me."

"Absolutely. I'm a fantastic teacher." Anne stated. "But I'll warn you," She pointed a fork at him, "I like to keep my students late after school." She blew him a kiss and grinned slyly. "And I punish bad behaviour. Severely!" She teased, pulling him in for a real kiss.

"So tell me, what's the project? Or is it a secret.?" She asked.

"The what?" Chris looked confused for a second. He also noted the change of subject. Anne was directing the conversation away from what the servants had said.

"The project that you need to learn Norwegian for?" She rolled her eyes with a teasing grin.

"Oh, yes, well it's not really a work project. More of a personal one."

Anne sat up more attentively wondering what Chris was doing. She gave him an 'I'm listening' nod."

"You see, I met this really cute Norwegian girl on the plane coming here, and I'd like to learn how to speak her language." Chris fought hard to keep a serious look on his face.

"Oh, I see." Ann tried to hide her smile. "Norwegian is a very good language to learn, and you should learn it, but it's not the one I think I'd recommend for this girl."

"And what language would you recommend? I only know that she speaks Norwegian and English." Chris flirted back.

Anne leaned in close, looking both ways, as if about to reveal a secret. With her finger she beckoned him close. "Love, my handsome. The language of love." She pulled Chris in and gave home another passionate kiss.

Anne grinned biting her lower lip as they separated.

Throughout the rest of their conversation together Chris noted that Anne was smiling. But so was he. He couldn't stop. They had such a good time together, talking and laughing mingled with a bit of flirting here and there. Something about they way she looked at him or talked to him, made him feel good inside. Being with her just felt natural.

"Hey, you in there?" Anne waved a hand in front of his face.

"Sorry, my mind went wandering for a minute." Chris looked embarrassed.

Anne just grinned at him. "Where'd it go? See anything nice?"

"Nothing nicer than what's in front of me now." He flirted back. "I was just contemplating how life can flip around on you. Last week I was in the wilderness living out of a tent and eating out of a tin can a hundred miles from anything that even remotely resembled civilization. This week I'm sitting in the palace courtyard having tea with a beautiful woman who, through some sort of witchcraft, I'm sure, seems to have possessed my mind." He sipped from his mug.

"You'd better be careful. She might want more than just your mind." She flirted back.

"What do you mean? Do you think she's interested in my shoes?" Chris played dumb looking down at his feet. "I got a great deal on these, you know."

Anne laughed. "Yes that's exactly what I want. Your smelly old shoes."

Chris chuckled a little. "Anne, I know we only met a few days ago, but...I'm really enjoying this. Us, I mean. It's hard to explain," he stumbled. "I.."

"I know." Anne cut him off, taking his hand again. "Me too. It's tricky sometimes, I know...figuring out new relationships. In the early stages you're always giddy with excitement, wondering where it might lead. Figuring each other out."

"I like where we are...where we're going." He said more sincerely.

"Me to." She smiled back. "But it's my turn now. Tell me about you. Where you live. You're family, all that important stuff."

"Hey, you can't change the subject that fast!" He teased. "We were talking about us."

"Oh yes I can." Anne teased back. "And now I want to talk about you." She grinned and stared straight into his eyes.

He stared back for a moment. "You are a witch aren't you?"

"What?" Anne let go of his hand and sat back trying to look offended. She stuck out a pouty lip.

Chris couldn't help grinning at her.

She fought hard not to grin back but failed. He was just too cute.

"You, Anne, have the most beautiful eyes I think I've ever seen. They're the colour glacial ice. When I look into them I get lost. They remind me of the Arctic, winter snow, mountain glaciers..." He gave her a playful smirk. "I'm under your spell. The spell of a beautiful witch. And I don't think there's anywhere else I'd rather be." He shoved a last bite of cake in his mouth.

Anne's face almost hurt from smiling now. "Good comeback. You do know how to charm a girl."

"It's not charm." Chris took a sip of tea. "It's just honesty. Okay, maybe I got a little poetic with the witch thing and the snow, but...when you first sat down beside me on the plane, its what I noticed first about you. I was a little embarrassed, actually, to tell the truth." Chris looked down at his empty plate, still a little embarrassed about it all. "When you sat down, all I could see was your eyes. I couldn't help but stare. There was so much to see in them."

Anne reached across the table and took his hand.

Chris continued, "I'm surprised you didn't notice. I felt like an idiot for staring."

"You didn't act like one. You were sweet. Polite. Courteous. And actually, I did notice. Chris, let me explain why I was attracted to you. Why I 'am' attracted to you." Anne corrected. "I know I'm somewhat of attractive looking woman." Anne looked a little bashful in saying that. "Being in the industry I'm in, I've come across a lot of men trying to hit on me. I've never been interested in any of them because they come at me wanting only wanting the same things. My money or my body or something superficial like that. Maybe it appeals to some women, but I have no interest in being the latest newspaper that get pitched out once it's been read. You looked at me as a person and treated me as a potential friend. Not a potential conquest. That got my attention." She paused for a sip of tea. "Chris, I probably can't name more then five men in my life who have made me feel really comfortable around them. Comfortable enough to open up to. Comfortable enough to place my trust in. Most of them are...were old enough to be my father or grandfather. In fact, one was my father. I don't find it easy to place my full trust in men. Not because I have some grievance against men, but more that I'm...maybe careful or more particular who I choose to trust. It's like you said earlier, a gut feeling about people. There are very few people I've had that feeling about."

"So who were the trustworthy men in your life?"

Anne grinned with a bit of a laugh. "In knew that question was coming."

"I'm sorry, you don't have to tell me." Chris apologized. "Its inappropriate of me to ask something so personal of you." He back stepped, wondering if he'd crossed a line.

"No, it's alright. I don't mind." Anne let out a deep breath closing her eyes for a moment. "My father was the first. I was very close to him. Per was, or is the second. He took care of my sister and me after our parents died. He was our legal guardian until Elise and I both turned eighteen. He's a sweet man. I hope you'll come and meet him soon. I have a neighbour, Einar, on the farm next to us who was also a very kind gentle man that I greatly respect for his wisdom and caring nature. He and his wife helped us a lot over the years. And I guess I'd have to add Lise's husband, Dagnar. He's such a good husband and a fantastic father. I enjoy talking to him. We have great conversations together. Maybe it's because he's married, I know there's no ulterior motives behind anything he says. There's no games being played. Just simple honesty. He's such a sweet man and he's so good to Lise."

She paused for a moment and had a far off look in her eyes. Chris waited patiently allowing her to be left to her thoughts for a minute. She then smiled up at him, looking content, happy to be reminded of the important people in her life. She took his hand again.

Chris felt a warmness from her. "Whose the fifth?"

She smiled brighter. The intensity of her eyes was scathing. "You." She whispered. "I barely know you, and yet..." she shook her head slightly, "and yet I feel like I could bear my soul to you. Tell you anything. I've been very open with a lot of things with you. Things that I've never said or done with any one before in my life." She covered her mouth and chuckled to herself as a memory flashed, "Sleeping in your lap on the plane was probably the biggest. You might not believe me, but I've NEVER done that before." Anne's face flushed for a moment at the memory. "Not on a plane or anywhere with any one except maybe at home with Elise." She turned serious. "I've never met anyone who made me feel like that. To be honest, it sort of scares me."

"Why. Am I that scary?" Chris prodded softly. He knew her answer but he also recognized that she needed to say it. She needed to work it through in her mind.

"Maybe." A tear started to trickle down from the corner of her eye but she wiped it away quickly. "I guess that's the reality of new relationships. We take risks with our hearts and pray we don't get hurt. Sorry. I'm getting a little emotional."

They were both quiet as Anne's confession hung there. Chris knew he needed to say something but the right words just wouldn't come, so he just started talking. "Anne, I wish there were some way to let you read my thoughts. To see in my heart. Unfortunately, that kind of knowledge will only come with time as trust builds. I've been around many different types of women before. Women who I thought were attractive in different ways. They always made me feel intimidated, small, insignificant... Maybe it was them and their attitudes, maybe it was just my insecurities, I don't know. But with you, yes I feel a little intimidated by your beauty and your intelligence, but as I think about it, it's more of a challenge. Not a challenge to be victorious over some conquest, but a personal challenge to myself, to be better. To have more confidence in myself. A higher standard to try to live up to. But at the same time you also make me feel good about myself. Like I'm worthwhile and important. Even if we had never kissed in the airport, I would have been overjoyed to have just been your friend. It may take me some time to figure it all out, but I like being with you. Talking, sharing. Like you, I don't have many people I can confide in. I'll be honest, I haven't had many girlfriends either. I could probably count them on one hand." He looked a little embarrassed. "Being away all the time for my job doesn't really help much with relationships either. Maybe that's something that you should keep in mind before we get too involved."

"Are we? Going to be involved, I mean?" She looked at him with a timid but questioning hopefulness.

"I hope so." Chris whispered back. "But..."

"But what?" She looked a little concerned.

"Take it slow. Let's not rush things."

"Are you afraid of me?" She grinned biting her lip.

"Maybe a little." Chris admitted. Grinning back.

"Good." Anne chided him.

"One of the things my job has taught me over the years to appreciate patience. Sitting alone for hours studying animals in their own environment taught me to really appreciate each moment I'm in. With us, I just want to make sure I can enjoy each moment for what it is. I don't want it to slip past so fast that I miss it. I don't know if that makes sense to you. I think maybe it's important for me to know their's a solid friendship in place before we go too far beyond. Maybe I'm just being naive." Chris shook his head.

"Why?" She asked sincerely.

Chris leaned in and kissed her. He felt her warm soft lips on his. She smelled so good. When their lips parted he inhaled deeply capturing her scent, hoping to burn it into his mind.

"That's not an answer." Anne grinned at him. "And I don't think friendships usually start out with..."

Chris interrupted her with another kiss. One that sent her spinning.

When their lips parted this time, Anne's eyes were still closed as she sighed in contentment. "You are not getting away that easily." She breathed heavily. Anne licked her lips, opening her eyes. "You still didn't answer my question. Come to think of it, you've avoided all my direct questions. Like where you live and about your family?"

"A guy needs to have a little mystery to him, doesn't he?" Chris threw her words from the other day back at her.

"No, he doesn't. And as the one bewitching you, I demand you reveal all your secrets to me." Anne tried to look serious but couldn't help smirking and eventually laughing.

Chris grinned back but his grin faded to a more serious look. "You don't need witchcraft or magic spells to possess me Anne. I'm already yours."

"Damn! You are much better at this than you let on. You really do know how to charm a girl."

Chris shrugged sheepishly.

Anne looked worried for a moment. "We need to get out of here."

"Why?" Chris looked around, trying to figure out what was so concerning.

"Because I am very close to throwing myself at you. And if I throw myself at you we are likely going to get thrown out of here and Per will be very upset as he was the one who managed to get us in here on such short notice."

"What about my family?" He teased back.

"Do they love you?" She asked.

"Well, yeah." Chris looked confused.

"Then they can wait. I can't." She winked at him as she stood.

As he stood, Chris noted a security camera right above them. He felt a touch of embarrassment wash over him as it registered that some security guy behind that camera had been watching their every movement. Watching them kiss.

"What?" Anne picked up on his look.

Chris nodded to the camera. "I suppose they've seen everything? Us, I mean."

"And heard." Anne added.

"What?" Chris looked a little offended glancing at the camera.

"It's the Kings palace. What do you expect?" She took his arm and pulled him close as they walked to the gate.

"I'm sorry, it's just that...the things I said...they were meant for you." Chris looked down feeling...he wasn't sure. Dejected or offended maybe, that someone uninvited had been listening in.

"Hey," Anne put a finger under his chin lifting it up. "It's okay. They're security. It's their job. They're not a bunch of bullies sitting around the monitors, drinking beer and mocking every word you say. They're professionals. It's not like there going to post it on face book after work. My sister and I might, but not them." She grinned mischievously at him.

"I know. Sorry. Sometimes it's a bit of a culture shock coming back to society when the only thing you've had listening to you for months is a couple other researchers and few random animals."

Anne led him to the same gate they'd entered. She hit a small discreet button that released the lock in the gate and they exited. She led him across the road, down a sidewalk into the park and then turned abruptly off the path and ducked through a thick grouping of trees and bushes, disappearing from sight.

"Where are you going." Chris laughed as she disappeared.

"Short cut." The bushes answered.

He chuckled to himself and ducked through the bushes to follow. When he stood up on the other side however, he was accosted buy a warm set of wet lips followed by a scent that was intoxicating. Anne kissed him with a passionate intensity he'd never felt before. He held her tight feeling the leather of her jacket. It was all he could do to hold on. His heart pounded in his chest. Her heart pounded against his and he could feel it. He calmed himself and tried to stay in the moment as he'd always done in the field when the excitement of tracking an animal for hours suddenly paid off. This woman was beautiful on the outside but he found her even more beautiful within, and on so many different levels that it was going to take time to sort it all out. He was looking forward to that.

They giggled to themselves, several times between kisses, as they heard voices on the other side of the thicket of trees and bushes as people walked past, unaware of them.

One voice, however, caught Anne's attention and she stopped suddenly. "Time to go." She grabbed his hand and blushing led him out the other side of the thicket into an open grass area where people were playing ball.

"What was that about?" Chris prodded.

"Police." Anne replied with a grin. "This is a public park surrounding the Kings palace and a big tourist destination. They patrol, among other things, to make sure nothing indecent is going on."

"So, what...they'd arrest me for kissing you in the bushes?" Chris laughed.

"No, maybe fine us or at the very least drag us out to make a scene in front of anyone nearby. I didn't think either of us would enjoy that." She checked her watch and then kissed him once more. "I'm sorry Chris, but I need to go soon. I promised Lise and Dagnar I'd babysit tonight so they'd could go out. They don't get to go out much, you know, just as a couple. I thought it would be fun to spend time with their children too."

"Okay. For the sake of the children I'll forgive you for leaving me. But only if you'll walk me home."

"Deal." She flashed a smile.

Anne led them back around the front of the palace, down the steps and back under the canopy of trees of the promenade.

"Are you still free tomorrow?" Anne asked as they approached Chris's hotel.

"I've got meetings throughout the day but then I'm finished. I'll be free for a few weeks break." He paused as a thought hit him. "Except next Thursday. I promised to meet some friends for dinner. Maybe you could come along and meet some of them."

"I'd like that." Anne smiled again while flagging a cab. As Chris opened the door for her, she turned to him. "Will you meet me for dinner tomorrow?" She smiled at him.

"I thought I told you already. There's no way I could ever say no to you."

A sly smile crept across her face as she leaned in. "I'm glad my spell is still working." She kissed him softly.

"Completely." Chris replied.

"Good. I'll call you." Anne kissed him once more before getting in the cab. Chris closed the door and Anne blew him a kiss as the cab pulled away.

Chris just stood there by the curb lost in thought. Just like that, she was gone. The loneliness of her absence suddenly hit him. It was not something he'd ever experienced before. A few passers by eyed him as he stood in contemplation of what it meant.

Chris returned to his hotel room to change his cloths to something more casual. The tie was really starting to bother him. He tried to read for a while but couldn't concentrate on anything and finally gave up. She was all he could think of when his phone buzzed with a text from his department manager, Margaret.

"Dinner plans cancelled. Meetings running late and one of the contractors wants to meet with me. Catch you tomorrow. Sorry."

His stomach began to growl at the thought of supper. It was a bit early, but his body was still operating in a different time zone. He had been looking forward to a night out with a couple friends.

Chris made his way down though the lobby and back out onto the promenade looking for some food and a good drink. He settled for a kiosk tent that was serving barbecue and cold beer. The food was good enough and the beer was excellent. He was just finishing his third and was debating whether or not to go exploring when a yawn overtook him and reminded him that he had a meeting in the morning and jet lag was really starting to mess with him.

Chris paid his bill and wandered back to his room, stopping along the way to listen to a couple buskers. He tossed them a few kroners before heading back for a hot shower and a soft bed.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5. Find my phone.**

The day had gone quickly for Chris. He managed to keep his focus throughout the day and with Margaret's help, managed to wrap up their conference and finalize most of their plans. They were scheduled to go back out in the field in two weeks, but unless they found a sponsor it would all be postponed. His team, would be held in limbo until the finance department sorted things out.

Chris was just entering his hotel room when Anne sent him a text to meet her at eight o'clock that evening and gave the address of a restaurant.

As he got dressed, he scribbled the address down on a piece of hotel stationary to show the cab driver and then stuck it in his pocket. He spied Anne's business card and decided it was time she translated it for him, so he put that back in his shirt pocket.

Chris flagged down a cab outside the hotel and showed the driver the scrap of paper with the restaurant name and address on it. The cabby nodded in acknowledgement and sped off. It was about a fifteen minute ride to the restaurant.

They were only a few blocks away, stopped behind a couple cars at a red light, waiting, when a truck ran the light and plowed into a car making a left turn. The sound of screeching metal on metal and shattering glass was deafening and made Chris's stomach turn.

The cabby threw his hands in the air and muttered something Chris didn't understand. He opened the door and stepped out to get a better view.

The whole intersection went quiet. People began jumping out of vehicles and rushing in from the sidewalks to see if the people involved were okay.

It only took a few moments for the people in the crashed vehicles to extricate themselves and Chris saw they were alright. Beyond some bumps and bruises, no one seemed to be injured too badly. The vehicles on the other hand were destroyed and littered the whole intersection blocking all traffic.

The cabby began muttering again and waving his arms in the air in disgust. "Stupid, stupid." The whole intersection was blocked. They were stuck. The cabby called Chris back in his car and pointed to the meter, indicating that he wanted payment as they could go no further and the meter would just keep on going.

As Chris paid the cabby, the driver pulled out his map. He waved to the intersection and then pointed to the map, indicating to Chris where they were. He then pointed to the restaurant on the map where Chris was meeting Anne at. It was only a few blocks away. The cabby pointed down the street in the direction Chris needed to go. "Good, yah?"

"Yes, thank you." Chris shook the drivers hand and headed off. If he hurried he might not be late. He crossed the street, passing the collision and saw the mess up close. They were lucky. A few seconds earlier and it would have been a full on T-bone collision, likely with some serious injuries.

After turning a couple corners, Chris pulled out his phone to check out the maps function and make sure he was going the right way. The signal was weak and the map seemed to spin around causing Chris to stop and wait for it to correct itself. He was certain he was only a block or two away.

"Hi." A voice said from behind. Chris turned to see a guy in his early twenties. He had dark hair and a red cap. He said something in Norwegian Chris didn't understand.

Chris scolded himself and decided he really needed to get serious about learning the language. "Sorry, I don't understand."

"Ahh. English. I speak. You need help. You lost?" The man asked.

"I'm okay. Just looking for a restaurant." Chris replied.

"Which one?" The man asked.

Chris pulled out the paper he'd scribble the address on and showed him.

"Oh yeah. Very close. This way." He pointed down the street. "I'll take you. I'm heading that way too."

They went half a block before the man turned down an alley. Chris stopped. He was skeptical of heading down an alley with a stranger. He checked his phone again, then looked down the alley. The man was right. At the end of the alley, across the street he could see the edge of the restaurant.

"See. It's there. The man pointed. He started down ahead of Chris, not really caring if Chris followed.

Chris followed at a safe distance, relieved to be so close to the restaurant. His thoughts immediately turned that cute redhead he was about to dine with. He couldn't wait to see her. The anticipation made him a bit giddy, but the thought of being with her was also calming. He grinned to himself as he thought about that.

As his guide exited the alley, he turned around and waved. "There you are my friend. Enjoy." The man turned the corner and disappeared before Chris could catch up and thank him.

As he approached the end of the alley, Chris's focus was on the restaurant. Through the window, he thought he could see her. She was sitting a little ways back. A smile grew across his face.

Suddenly everything went black.

* * *

"Hei! Hei! Våkn opp! Du kan ikke sove her! Hei!"

A hand was gently slapping Chris's face. His eyes slowly came into focus. Two officers were standing over him shining a light in his face. "What...what happened." He sat up and was blinded by the flashing lights on the car.

"Too much drinking. You can't sleep here. You'll have to come with us now."

Before he could protest, the officers hoisted him up from the alley to put him into that back seat of their car. Chris's head was spinning, and not in the good way, not the way that Anne could make it spin. "Wait, drinking? Wait." Chris tried to protest when the pain in his head hit him hard. He gasped at the pain and felt nauseous. His legs began to go limp but the officers held on, supporting him.

He was put into the back seat and one of the officers buckled the seat belt before Chris could clear his head. Before he could protest again, they were driving. Driving away. Away from... "Anne!" He blurted out. "Go back. Go back." He protested again. "I'm not drunk. I haven't been drinking." The smell suddenly hit him. The smell of cheep alcohol was all over him.

"You can sort it out at the station." The officer told him curtly. "We found you lying in an alley, passed out, smelling of alcohol and no I.D. on you. We'll need to confirm your identity first and then we can look into your story.

At the words "No I.D." Chris began searching his pockets. His wallet was gone. "Shit!"

"Excuse me!" The officer in the passenger seat turned and gave Chris a glare, obviously acting offended at the profanity expressed.

"They took my wallet and my phone. Damn!"

"Your saying you've been mugged?" The officer asked.

"Yes. That's what I've been trying to say the whole time. I was meeting my girlfriend at the restaurant." Chris explained the events leading up to blacking out.

The officer listened carefully before answering. "Alright. This is what's going to happen. At the station, if you can verify your story you'll likely get off. If not, you're going to be facing some fines and you may need a lawyer."

Chris was about to protest again, to get them to take him back to the restaurant, but decided it was futile. The officers weren't going to listen. What would Anne be thinking right now. He'd stood her up. Even though it wasn't his fault, it still made him feel sick. She was sitting there now, waiting for him. And what if he got charged for whatever they were picking him up for? If the charges stuck, he could be deported and maybe loose his job. He'd probably loose Anne too. There was nothing to do but wait. Chris painfully resigned himself to his fate but he wanted to scream. How could he have been so stupid to fall for such an obvious trick. His head hurt so bad he wanted to vomit. The movement of the car didn't help matters either.

When they arrived, Chris was led into the station. He walked slowly, trying not to be sick, to a secured waiting area to be processed. He sat, and sat, and sat. The waiting was sheer anxiety, but the wait allowed the pain in his head to subside enough so he wasn't dizzy or nauseous anymore. It gave him time to clear his head.

After another forty five minutes he was escorted to an office where he was questioned. Chris gave them his name and told his story of being hit on the head and robbed in the alley. The officer, Lars something..., Chris didn't catch the last name, looked at him like just another problem to deal with. Even though he was feeling better, at times Chris was still finding it hard to focus.

"Alright." Lars cleared his throat. "Your story sounds plausible. We've heard of this type of robbery on tourists before. It's a set up. One leads you down the alley where the other is waiting for you. They whack you on the head, rob you and dump alcohol all over you to make you look drunk. But so far I've got nothing to confirm or deny your story. You were found sleeping in an alley, smelling of alcohol. And the bump on your head could have happened when you passed out. Do you have anything to prove your story before I process you? This girlfriend you were meeting maybe? Does she have a name?" Lars looked at him.

"Anne." Chris replied putting his head in his hands and feeling dejected. "Anne Brekke." He said quietly, picturing that amazing smile of hers. It calmed him a little and made him smile, but it also saddened him at the thought that at this moment he might be loosing her.

The officer chuckled a bit. "Let me guess, mid twenties, slim build, red hair." He snickered to himself.

Chris's head snapped up. "Yeah. How'd you know." A ray of hope hit him that maybe the officer knew Anne and could help him. "Do you know her?"

Lars didn't respond. He just looked at Chris strangely. "How long have you known her?"

"We met on the plane a few days ago coming to Oslo." Memories flooded Chris's head of the flight. Snuggling with her as they slept. His mind began to wander in warm happy memories but reality suddenly slapped Chris in the face and reminded him of where he was. He looked up at Lars.

"You met this...Anne Brekke on the plane and now she's your girlfriend?" Officer Lars looked very skeptical.

"Wait. My phone." Chris blurted out looking excited.

"Your phone? The one you said was stolen?" Lars replied.

"Yeah. Can I use your computer."

"No." The officer replied firmly.

"My phone can be tracked. If I log in to the app you can track my phone and probably catch the guys. There's pictures of Anne and me together on it."

Lars didn't respond at first. "The guy who led you down the alley, can you describe him?" He asked.

"Yeah," Chris sighed rubbing his head. He gave the officer a very detailed description of his guide. His height, weight, everything he wore and what he looked like including moles, freckles, tattoos and scars.

The office looked surprised. "That's...a rather complete description."

"Ten years of field research. You see an animal for a few seconds and you have to learn to identify it from all the others, to follow it and the document it." He looked up at Lars again. "Do you still think I'm drunk?"

The officer chuckled. "No I don't. But we'll do a breath analysis if your willing. It might help clear you. Can your girlfriend confirm any of your story?" Lars asked?

Chris thought for a moment. "Some of it. Maybe. She was waiting for me at the restaurant. She didn't see the attack."

Chris wiped his face in frustration and let his hand slide all the way down his chest. Then he felt something. Reaching into his shirt pocket he pulled out Anne's business card.

"What's that?" Lars asked.

"Anne's card." Chris handed it to him.

Lars eyed Chris with what looked like skepticism until he read the card. He looked at Chris for a moment before flipping the card over and read what was scribbled on the back. A smirk crossed his face. He picked up his phone and dialled the number. There was no answer so he left a message to call him back.

"Alright Mr. Hansen. This just bought you a little leeway. How do I track your phone?"

Chris showed the officer where to go online. Lars let Chris put in his phone password and a map popped up with a blinking dot indicating his phone. Lars picked up his own phone and placed a call.

It was a matter of less than a minute for Lars to contact a police car in the area and send them the info to track Chris's cell.

"Now we wait, Mr. Hansen. Care to do that breath analysis now?"

"Yeah. Let's get it over with." Chris added, feeling subdued.

Lars called in another officer who lead Chris to another part of the station where, after more waiting, he was tested for alcohol levels. As expected, he registered zero. Chris hadn't had a drink since yesterday. He waited for a while longer while the analysis was properly documented and printed out. All the paper shuffling seemed to take forever. Bureaucracy was always painfully slow.

When it was finally finished Chris was then led back to Lars with the analysis. He sat outside the office for a while longer until Lars called him in. Chris entered and took a seat.

"Well, Mr. Hansen. Since you have no alcohol in your system, we have no charges against you for being drunk in a public place. Technically you are free to go once you sign the paperwork. But I'd like you to stay. While you were out, our officers picked up two men, at the location of your cell phone. One fits your guides description perfectly. On them we found your wallet and a cell phone matching the one you described. They'll be here shortly. With your statement, we'll be charging them with assault and robbery."

Chris let out a large sigh of relief. "Thank you. Thank you." Chris reached out and shook the officers hand.

"Thank you, Mr. Hansen, for your patience. You can wait here if you like, while I finish the report and clear you of the charges." He handed back Anne's business card.

Chris leaned back and rubbed his face again. He put his hands behind his head and felt the lump where he'd been struck. It hurt, but the nausea had faded. He probably should have it looked at.

After another fifteen minutes or more, another officer knocked, entered, handed Lars a large envelope and left. "Your wallet, Mr. Hansen. And a phone." Lars turned it on and the password screen popped up. "I'm sorry. But I need proof this is yours."

Chris told him the password. Lars entered it and the phone activated. "Thank you." He handed it back to Chris.

"On more thing. Just curiosity, you said you had pictures of your girlfriend?"

"Oh, uh, yeah." Chris looked confused by his request but complied. He pulled up the shot Jackie had taken of him and Anne on the plane, snuggled together, and showed it to Lars.

Lars looked hard at the picture, then back at Chris in surprise.

"There's another one if you just swipe left." Chris pointed out.

Lars swiped and his mouth seemed to fall open just a bit. "This is the Palace!"

"Yeah, we had afternoon tea there yesterday." Chris replied casually.

Lars seemed a little flustered. It seemed odd. He obviously knew who Anne was.

The phone rang on Lars desk. He handed Chris's cell back and he answered his own phone. "Hello, yah, Anne Brekke?"

Chris couldn't follow what was said, but by the surprised look on officer Lars face he could guess the gist of the conversation. Anne was returning the missed call.

Lars hung up the phone. "Mr. Hansen, Miss Brekke, will be here shortly to pick you up." He had an odd smirk on his face.

Chris's nodded and after signing all the required paperwork, he thanked the officer and left the office to wait in the front lobby.

It was only about ten minutes later when the front doors opened and the most beautiful sight he thought he'd ever seen appeared. He almost wanted to cry. Anne was stunning. She wore a snug black dress, hip high leather boots and a deep red leather jacket. Her hair was tied up in the back and she wore large round tinted glasses that make her look like a movie star. Audrey Hepburn seemed to come to mind. Then it dawned on him. That was probably her intent. It wasn't exactly what Audrey wore in the movie but it was very reminiscent and Anne looked strikingly a lot like her with her hair tied up they way it was and with her movie star glasses. She had dressed up for him, he realized. He smiled to himself.

Audrey, or Anne, walked in as if she owned the place. Ignoring the officers and the stares from people around, she walked straight up to Chris, pulled off her glasses and kissed him before hugging him tight.

After a brief exchange of "are you alright's" and "you smell terrible", Anne turned to Lars who appeared a little dumbfounded. His jaw seemed to be hanging open just a little too much. He almost bowed when Anne spoke to him in their native tongue. Chris found it odd. Anne was beautiful, no doubt, but the people here seemed a little off because of it. Like they'd never seen someone so pretty before. It bothered him but he couldn't wait to leave. He was tired and his head was pounding.

When she finished with Lars, Anne turned back to Chris. "You ready?

"Get me out of here. Please." He begged.

Anne took his hand and led him out to a car parked in front if the station. It wasn't the car Chris would have expected of her. Somehow he expected a sports car. Something flashy. Red maybe. This was a large shiny black chauffeur driven business car with mirror tinted windows.

The chauffeur was waiting with the back door open.

Once inside the chauffeur sped them off at a fast pace.

Anne hugged Chris tight and kissed him repeatedly asking if he was alright.

"I'll be okay." He reassured her multiple times.

"What happened? The police told me some of it."

Feeling embarrassed by it all, Chris explained his story to her, the taxi, the car accident and finally of being duped and robbed. He still felt stupid and foolish for falling for such a dumb trick.

When he finished, Anne just looked at him before kissing him hard. "I'm so sorry. I should have picked you up. It was ignorant of me not to send the car over to get you."

"It's alright," he smiled back. "Hey, speaking of cars...?" He waved to the car they were in.

"I borrowed it from Elise. It belongs to the company." She looked at him a little concerned.

"Okay. I've got another question." Chris explained all the odd behaviour he'd seen at the police station and how it all seemed to be connected with her. "Can you tell me why?"

Anne sighed looking down at the floor. She looked a bit uncomfortable. "Do you trust me?"

"Yes. I do." Chris answered.

"Then...I need you to trust me that I will tell you. Just...not yet." She almost looked a little sad but she hid it behind a smile. "Are you okay with that?"

Chris smiled a calm smile. "You've got a bad memory Anne."

"What?" She looked surprised at him. Maybe offended. Chris wasn't sure.

He grinned at her. "Two things you seem to have forgotten. In my line of work I've learned to appreciate patience. I can wait for you. As long as you need. I'll wait." He said with a soft smile.

Anne's face softened as she grinned back at him. "And second?"

"I told you in the airport, I could never say no to you." Chris smiled back.

She pulled Chris in again, hugging him tight. "Thank you." She whispered in his ear.

Chris held her tight until he heard a sniffle from her. Letting go, he saw tears in her eyes. She tried to smile for him. He wiped the tears away before kissing her softly once more. "Are you going to be okay?" He asked. She looked stressed. "I'm assuming it's not my smell that's making your eyes water." He grinned.

Anne chuckled, took a deep breath and let it out slow before answering "I'll be okay."

The car pulled to a stop at an underground parking lot.

"Where are we?" Chris asked.

"My doctor's office. You need to have your head examined." She began to laugh through her tears.

Chris laughed with her. "Yeah, I've thought that for some time now. Does he work late or something? It's after eleven."

"No. I called him."

Chris looked at her again and wondered what it must cost to have a doctor on call just for her. He began putting pieces together in his head. The doctor, the way the police reacted to her, having tea in the palace and her level of education and knowledge of the world. It was like she was a celebrity that few people knew of. It didn't quite make sense, but he trusted her and decided to let it go, for now. She' tell him when she was ready.

He realized how odd it was, the way he felt. He didn't really know her that well but he had no problem trusting her. It just felt natural to do so. As though he'd been trusting get for years. He'd never felt that way before. A small part of him wondered if this woman really could be putting a spell on him.

Anne led him up an elevator to a private office where a doctor was waiting. She gave the doctor a hug, kissed him on the cheek and thanked him for coming before introducing Chris. Anne had to do some translating as the doctors English was somewhat broken, but after examining Chris, the doctor concluded that Chris would be alright. There was no concussion or serious injury. He prescribed some painkillers for the headache and inflation.

Chris thanked him and shook his hand. Anne kissed him on the cheek again and they left.

When they arrived back at Chris's hotel it was after midnight. Anne followed him in and he was surprised to find 'take out' waiting for them at the front desk. Chris turned to Anne with a questioning look.

Anne shrugged and smiled at him. "We missed supper."

"You think of everything don't you." He smiled back with a little head shake. A pang of emotion welled up in him as he thought about Anne and all the care and love she'd shown him.

They took their food back to Chris's room to share and it didn't take long for them to finish it off. They were both starving. Even Anne ate with a little less etiquette and a bit more haste.

When they finished, she stood up and began getting ready to leave.

"Are you going already?" Chris asked.

"Yes. I'm sorry. Believe me, I really want to stay, but I have to go." She looked around the room. "Pack your things and check out tomorrow. I'll pick you up around ten."

"Where are we going? Where am I staying?" He inquired.

"With me, of course." She grinned and then proceeded to give him a lengthy goodnight's kiss before disappearing.

Once again the loneliness of her absence hit him. The room felt hollow, empty without her presence. He suddenly corrected himself as realizations began to hit him. It wasn't the room. It was him. He felt hollow and empty without her.

Chris undressed and filled some of the hollow emptiness with a couple painkillers to take the edge off his headache and then went to bed. The drugs might help with the pain in his head, but there was no cure for what was in his heart right now. He had it bad and he knew it. He also knew he never wanted it to go away.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6. Anna and the king**.

As promised, precisely at ten o'clock, Anne arrived at the hotel in the chauffeur driven car. Chris had already checked out of his room and was waiting for her in the lobby when the chauffeur came in to get him. It was probably for the best anyway because as of 11:00 am his company was no longer paying for his hotel room and he was officially on his own dime.

The chauffeur opened the door for Chris before taking his luggage and putting it in the back. Anne sat waiting in the car as Chris climbed in. As always, she looked amazing to him. She was dressed casually in tight blue jeans, and a loose fitting cream shirt that hung off one shoulder. Her hair was pulled back into a loose single braid and she wore the tinted movie star glasses she'd had on last night.

She smiled softly at Chris as he sat down beside her. He grinned back. She sat still, waiting until the chauffeur closed the door. Then she pounced and kissed him.

"Good morning." Chris replied when he could breathe again.

"How's your head." She inquired.

"After that, much better."

Anne smiled as she settled in close to him. Chris put an arm around her and she snuggled into him for the trip.

"So are you going to tell me where we're going?"

"Looks like I'm not the only one with a bad memory. Or is that bump on your head causing you to forget things?" She teased.

"I think it is." He teased back.

Anne leaned in and kissed him again. "Does that help?" She smiled.

"Maybe a little."

Anne relented. "We're going to my house. It's about a three to four hour drive. I guess we could have flown, but I thought it'd be good for us to spend time together since we missed out last night. Seriously though, how's your head?"

"Still hurts. My neck is pretty sore. But I think I'll live." He rubbed the back of his neck.

"I'm sorry." She looked at him more serious.

"For what? It's not your fault."

"I know. I just feel bad. I was...we were," she corrected herself, "looking forward to a nice dinner together. I guess I had it all planned out, and then..." She hesitated looking down nervously at her hands.

"And then you thought I stood you up." Chris finished for her.

"No. I... I didn't. I knew something must be wrong...eventually, but..." Anne faltered again.

"But that little voice in the back of your head kept saying 'What if? What if he did leave you?" Chris took her hand. "Anne, when the police took me away, all I could think about was that I was going to lose you. That you'd think I backed out and left you. I'm the one who should be apologizing. I had the same thoughts. Sitting in the police station I realized that I didn't care that I'd been knocked out or that my wallet was stolen, and the only value to my phone was that it had two awesome pictures of you in it. All I cared about was loosing you."

She looked up at him with a warm surprised smile. "Really?"

"Yeah, really. And when the front doors of the station opened and Audrey Hepburn walked in and kissed me, I was blown away." He smiled back.

Anne felt a touch embarrassed by her own behaviour began quietly laughing. "I wasn't sure if you noticed my little outfit." She looked away a little shyly.

"Oh I think everyone in the station noticed your little outfit. It was kind of hard not to. They probably didn't make the connection as I did, but I'm sure they all noticed. And I liked it, by the way." He looked at her again with a cross between curiosity and amazement. "I didn't really notice until last night but, when you want to, you have a way of owning whatever space you're in just by your attitude. And last night, the way you stormed in, you totally owned that station and everyone knew it. Where do find that level of confidence? If I hadn't been just beaten, robbed and then imprisoned for it, I think I would have been too overwhelmed to to even speak."

Anne was looking flushed and trying to hide her nervousness. "It's hard to describe. But I think that like everyone, I'm many different personalities rolled into one depending on the situation and how I'm feeling. I guess maybe some of it comes from modelling I did a number of years back. When you walk the stage, you learn to own it and show confidence, even if your scared inside. And dressing the way I did, made me feel good about myself. Combine that with a friend that I care about who was in need, I guess instincts and necessity took over and I responded." She smiled to herself at the memory. "In hind sight, it was sort of empowering, but at the same time terrifying. When your on that stage, everyone's watching. You need to be flawless. It's a little stressful if you think about it. But please don't feel intimidated. It's an act. It's not really who I am. I mean, it is, but just a small part. Does that make sense?"

Chris nodded his understanding.

"It's like dressing up as Audrey. It's fun and I like to do it, but it's not who I am. I'm Anne not Audrey. Do you know what I mean?"

"Yes, but I have so many questions I don't know where to begin."

"Okay, I'll answer anything you want as long as I get to ask you what I want to know."

"Sure." Chris grinned.

Anne sat up more and turned to face him. She crossed her legs and gently placed her hands on her knee to give him her undivided attention. "Ask away."

"Okay, modelling. You said you used to do a little modelling. Tell me about it."

"Alright. That's a bit of a long story but let's see if I can abbreviate it? My sister got into modelling for a brief time as a teenager and I tagged along. I thought it was fun and glamorous. Because I hung around all the time and because of my sister, as time went on, the agencies got to know me and occasionally they'd ask me to stand in if one of the other models didn't show. I was pretty enough to stand in, but I knew I'd never have the looks to make a professional career out of it. Nor did I want to. I had other plans."

"Like what?" Chris asked.

"Well, most of the time, when I wasn't standing in as a model, I used to sit and sketch the models I saw. I'd try and sketch what they wore. Then I started sketching what I thought they'd look good in, and before I knew it I had started designing my own cloths for fun. Years later, after university, with my sisters brains behind the business end of things, I tried my hand at it for a while and produced a few things for the industry, but I always felt it was a shallow endeavour, going to all these fashion shows and seeing the opulence and excessive money that was being thrown around. With so much poverty in the world it made me feel guilty to see so much money wasted when it could be used to feed and cloth the impoverished. I liked designing, so I changed my tactics and began using my designs and the shows to raise awareness and fund-raise for various charity and humanitarian organizations. Being involved in charities opened me to a whole other realm. I began working with various organizations in different countries to help bring about changes and provide the means for the impoverished to provide for themselves."

"Wait a minute. You went from high fashion model to humanitarian just like that? And you're and artist? I mean you draw?"

"Well, I wouldn't exactly call myself 'high'. And yes I like to draw. Art kind of runs in my family a little bit. My grandmother used to draw and paint."

Things began to click into place in Chris's head. "That's how come you know so much about world issues, environmental and the world economies. Mystery solved!"

"Yes. You've discovered one of my deep secrets." She teased.

Chris found the warmness in his heart for this woman growing with everything he learned about her. She was amazing to him in ways he was only beginning to understand. "So your sisters a model too?"

"No. She got out of it before I did. At least the modelling part. She went on to university and got her business degree. Then we started our company. As I said, she was the brains behind the business, the corporate business tycoon. I just drew pictures."

"Elan Enterprises?" Chris questioned.

"Yes."

"Why Elan? What does it mean?"

"Officially, 'Elan' is defined as 'energy and enthusiasm.' Which is a great corporate slogan. Unofficially, it's just the first two letters of Elise's name and mine." Anne laughed. "Not very original, but it worked."

"So Elan enterprises is a charity organization?" Chris looked confused.

"No. First and foremost we are a fashion, design, and clothing company. But we make use of our fashions, and connections to try to make a more ethical impact on the world. As I said, we also support a lot of charities and humanitarian groups around the world. We also do a lot of investing in the world markets, which we've done quite well at, but again we try to stick to markets and stocks that are...ethical maybe. Not that many of them aren't, but we don't want to be investing in some leading technology company that makes lots of money but dumps its toxic waste into the drinking water of some third world country. It can be tricky, and you need to do a lot of research. That's another way that I've learned about so many world issues."

"The dress you wore last night? Was that...?"

Anne grinned. "Yes. I made it."

"And your other cloths?" He asked.

"Not all, but a lot of them, I or someone in the company designed. Most were manufactured by the company, but a few, like my dress last night, I made myself. Good old needle n' thread."

"You're a model, fashion designer, fashion consultant, professional humanitarian, seamstress, artist, investor and a cosplayer? Is there anything you don't do?"

Anne laughed at the cosplay comment. "Yeah. Ask my own questions about where you're from and about your family." She chided back.

"All in good time. You're much more fascinating. All I do is sit around the wilderness and stare at things. I follow animals around until they poop so I can see what they ate for breakfast. Doesn't really compare to fashion model and humanitarian."

"How do you know. Maybe I like examining animal poop too." She snickered at him.

"I'm sure it tops your list of romantic things to do on a Friday night." Chris teased.

"Absolutely! What girl doesn't like a good poop to look at." She laughed.

"Really? Well then, what are you doing tonight?"

"Hmmm, I think I might be eating alone."

Chris laughed at her again but then changed the subject. "How's your sister?

"I'm not sure. I didn't get much of a chance to speak to her yesterday. I had to break a friend out of jail."

Chris was enjoying their teasing banter.

"Don't worry, you'll get to meet her. She wants to meet you. Actually, she sent me a text this morning and kind of insisted."

"Does your sister always get what she wants?"

"She's the queen."

"The queen?" Chris looked at her funny.

Anne looked a little uncomfortable but then she smiled again. "Yeah, I guess it started a few years ago when we moved our company into the Ice Palace."

"Ice Palace?" Chris looked at her funny. "Sounds like a figure skating rink."

"Yeah. The buildings architect designed it to look or maybe more to remind you of glaciers, icicles or ice formations when you look at it. It's a tall, skinny glass office tower with jagged spires that sort of artistically resemble ice. The windows are a cool blue colour that add to the effect. It's kind of pretty, I think. Anyways, my sister can be very tough and sometimes a little aggressive when it comes to business. I guess some people interpreted that as being cold and heartless. So, somewhere along the way, some reporter referred to our office as the Ice Palace and her as the Queen of the Ice Palace. The name 'Ice Queen' sort of caught on. Elise hated the name at first but now she doesn't seem to care. We've done a lot of humanitarian work over the years so people know she's not heartless but the name was catchy and just seemed to stick."

"Is she as scary as she sounds?"

"No." Anne laughed. "Absolutely not. Although I'll admit I'm a little biased being her sister. She can be tough though. But sometimes I think being in the position she's in has made her a little bit too cynical and aggressive. And her boyfriend Hans... You know I've been thinking about him and what you said about gut feelings."

"And?" Chris asked.

"To be completely honest, which I don't think I have been with regards to him, I don't really like him. I've wanted to like him for Elise's sake and I've been trying but I think I've just been fooling myself trying to deny who he really is. He's cynical and kind of cold. He has a kind hearted side to him but...I don't know...sometimes it seems more like an act and not really sincere. When I really look back on things I can see some of the negative influence he's had on my sister. His main goal alway seems to be to climb to the top of that corporate ladder and take whatever he can get." Anne fell silent as she watched the scenery go by.

Chris reached over and took her hand. "You're pretty close to her aren't you?"

"Yes, well...sometimes. We weren't always though. After our parents were killed, Elise kind of isolated herself. She stopped taking to just about everyone. Then she went off to university. We kind of lost touch for a while. I don't know what happened there but when she came back, she had a new sense of focus. Like she knew what she wanted and wasn't going to let anyone stand in her way. It was so nice to have her back again but she had changed. She was...I don't know, tougher maybe? A little more closed off. When we were kids, we were always so open with each other. She used to tell me everything."

"Anyways, when we went into business we kind of renewed our relationship together. The last couple years though, Elise and I seemed to be drifting apart again. I can't say for certain but I think Hans may have had something to do with it. When they started dating I wasn't too keen on it. He was an employee. But he seemed nice. Elise was quite taken with him and they spent a lot of time together. She seemed happy so I stayed out of it." Anne paused looking out the window at the passing scenery again. She turned back to Chris. "Maybe I'm being too harsh on him. We've had a lot of big financial deals happen this past year that have been stressful on both of us."

Anne took Chris's arm and wrapped it around herself. She leaned back into him, and stared out the window at the countryside flashing by. Thoughts of past corporate deals she, Hans and Elise had made together flashed through her mind. Individually they all seemed positive but when viewed together in hindsight, there was something off about them she couldn't place. They seemed connected somehow but she couldn't put her finger on it. A pattern. It never really occurred to her before to consider them as such. That was Elise's realm of expertise. She decided she'd have to bring it up with her sister soon. Maybe Elise would see something she missed. Maybe she was just being paranoid. She sighed and settled herself in for the remainder of the ride.

Anne seemed lost in thought for a while so Chris withheld any further questions. He'd often found it was good to just sit and think about things. Let your mind sort through what it needed to. Anne seemed to need that time now. It was the least he could do for her. For now he was just happy to be here with her.

They were quiet for almost an hour together when Anne broke the silence. "Chris, what's it like being alone out in the wilderness?"

He thought for a minute, trying to find the right words. "Peaceful, exhilarating, overwhelming, lonely, scary and beautiful all at the same time." He let that sit for another minute before continuing. "It can depend on where you are, but I've always thought the world is beautiful in so many ways no matter where you are. There's danger, of course, no matter where you go but you just need to be aware of it and know how to deal with it. But I guess that's the same anywhere, city or wilderness. For me, I just find being in the outdoors, away from civilization, a place to find peace and to centre myself. No matter how much work I may have to do, I've never found it stressful when I'm alone in the wilds. It relaxes me. But as I said it, there's also a loneliness. As much as I love it, I know I need to return. I need human interaction. I find that isolation helps me appreciate people. I value my friends more."

"And the danger?" Anne asked.

"There's always dangers. From animals, or the elements and even the surroundings. But if your smart about, you can learn to appreciate that too. There are lessons to be learned everywhere."

"So tell me, oh great and wise one, what lessons have you learned?" She smirked.

He let out a soft chuckle thinking over his experiences before speaking. "I sat for hours once, watching a pregnant doe give birth. It was a beautiful thing to see. Her baby was strong and healthy and in only a few minutes was walking. Less than an hour later a pack of wolves found them and killed them both. Nature can be amazingly beautiful and at the same time horrifically brutal." He looked to Anne for a moment and saw the shocked expression on her face.

"So much for happy endings for Bambi." She remarked a bit cynically.

"Yeah, at first glance the wolves may seem like the bad guy, just like all the fairy tales. But it's all about balance. If the wolves don't eat the deer, there's too many deer and the ecosystem goes out of balance. Other species of both plants and animals will suffer including the deer. It's a cycle that needs to remain in balance."

"Have you ever considered Buddhism?" Anne was smirking at him. "Balance!" She teased.

"Can't you see it? Just me and the Dalai Lama hanging out in the wilderness looking at animal dung." He laughed.

"The philosophy of life surmised in dung!" Anne laughed at him.

"Why does our conversation keep coming back to dung?" He chuckled to her.

"Call of the wild." She mused with a giggle. She looked back at Chris for a moment and was caught by his eyes. There was so much to see through the those eyes. So much life and love and she wanted to experience all of it. She began to feel as though he was the witch and she was caught by his spell. She couldn't help grinning at him.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" He grinned back.

Anne didn't answer but instead moved slowly towards him, closing her eyes as their lips met. It was a slow soft kiss that sent shivers up her spine. She ran her hand through his hair, pulling his face in for a longer and more passionate kiss before pulling away, a moment later, with a satisfied grin.

"What was that all about?" Chris stared back into her eyes.

A smirk crossed Anne's face as she replied, "Another call of the wild." A happy carefree smile crossed her face as she settled back into her seat.

"Tell me about your house. You said you like to garden? What do you grow?" Chris tried to change the subject.

"A little of everything I guess. I mostly plant flowers and some berry bushes. Elise likes to grow lots of herbs and vegetables. Although, I'll admit our gardener takes care of most of it for us since we're away so often. Any excess food we grow we try to donate to a local shelter."

"You do a lot for charity don't you?" Chris added. It almost made him feel bad about himself knowing how little of his own time and money he'd given up to help his fellow man.

"We try to do what we can. It isn't as much as you might think, but we try." She continued to smile happily at him. "Elise and I were raised to look out for the people around us. Do what we can for those in need. In some ways it's a good business model to work by. If you give back to the communities, the communities will support your business."

"You really do enjoy making a difference in the world don't you?" Chris couldn't help smiling. Her grin was infectious. Her whole being was infectious. He kept thinking about how completely insane this all was. He'd just met Anne a few days ago and here he was, going to stay with her at her house. He couldn't even begin to describe the feelings he was having for her at this moment, except that he was completely taken by her and couldn't imagine being anywhere else. He didn't want to be anywhere else. Before he met her, his life had a path to follow. A set of tracks that led him on. But then she stepped in and completely derailed him. He was a complete train wreck and he was happy about it. He was clueless as to what this was going to do to his life, but oddly...he didn't care. Somehow, bizarre as it seemed, it didn't matter as long as he was with her. As long as he could look into those glacial blue eyes, he was beyond happy. "I really do need my head examined." He thought to himself.

"What are you thinking?" Anne asked, noticing that he was lost in thought.

Chris chuckled at everything that had been going through his head and tried to evaluate what he should say or not say. "Too many things."

"Was I in there somewhere"?" She flirted.

Chris just laughed at the comment, which put a bit of a concerned look on Anne. "Anne, you're everywhere in everything I think about." He replied. Her look of concern turned to an almost embarrassed smile.

"You're not just saying that?" She looked a little more serious at him.

"No. I'm not." Chris thought about how much he should admit, but decided there was really no point in not being honest. "The last few days, I've had a real hard time keeping my mind on anything but you." Christ looked back up to meet her gaze.

Anne's mouth was almost hanging open with surprise but a subtle smile creeping across her face kept her jaw from completely dropping.

Chris suddenly felt awkward admitting his feelings. "Sorry. Maybe I should have waited before admitting..."

Anne cut him off with another kiss. She gripped his head with both hands and kissed him with all the passion she could muster. When they parted she looked hard into his eyes. "That spell must be more powerful than I thought." She spoke quietly.

"No." Chris countered. "It's just you."

"That's very sweet of you. How do you not have girls following you all over? Why are you not married yet?" She teased. Anne released him and sat back.

"I live in the woods and study poop, remember?" He grinned back.

Anne fell back laughing again. "Yeah, alright. I'll concede that, but that is only a small part of your job. You do much more than that." She paused and got serious for a moment. "Why haven't you found anyone?"

Chris sighed quietly running a hand through his hair. He felt put on the spot to answer something personal and didn't know what to say. He thought about his past relationships but felt awkward about discussing them with Anne. It felt too much like comparing. He didn't want to compare her to anyone. He also felt a little scared to open up. He knew he could trust her but something in him, instincts maybe, caused him to hold back.

"I suppose the easy answer is that I've put my career first." Chris offered. "As I've said, my job doesn't help much. It's hard to maintain a relationship when your away months at a time." He thought hard about the question and the answers intrigued him. "Maybe I've been afraid."

"Of what?" Anne spoke softly. She was enjoying listening to Chris share his thoughts and feelings. It made her feel connected to him.

"On the surface, afraid of failure of the relationship, but on a deeper level, I think...maybe I've been afraid that it might change me or my career in ways I couldn't imagine." It was a revelation that hit him suddenly. And he realized he was already there. He was already in that relationship and Anne was altering his life and career whether he liked or not. But the reality was that he liked it, and he didn't seem to be afraid of it anymore.

"Is that really such a bad thing? Change, I mean."

"I thought it was." Chris answered almost without thinking. He stared past her out the window contemplating his answer.

Anne tried to hide a subtle grin. "But not now?"

"No. It's not as bad as I thought?"

"But you still make it sound as if it's bad." Anne scoffed teasingly.

Chris snapped suddenly out of his half absent mental wandering and chuckled. "Sorry, it's not bad. It's good. It just throws the future into a complete unknown. Do you know what I mean? One minute your traveling down a path you've set before yourself, the next, you've stepped off that path you've worked so hard to create and you've no idea where you're going.

"Do you feel lost?"

"No." He chuckled. "I have you beside me." Anne smirked and took his hand before he continued. "It's not really a feeling of being lost, it's more like not knowing where this new direction leads."

"So you're afraid of the unknown?" Anne watched his expressions carefully. She could almost see the gears turning in his head. It was fascinating to watch him work through things in his head. Lights were turning on as he re-evaluated his life in front of her.

Chris smiled thoughtfully at her. "Maybe, but it might be more a concern than a fear. If you know where you're going, there's less to worry about. But if you don't know, it's just...one more unknown to be concerned with."

"I guess the question is _Am I happy with where I am_?" He smiled up at Anne. "And I have to concede the point that, I am, with you. And if I am, whatever path I'm on is irrelevant."

Anne bit her lip to hide a shy smile. As she thought about what Chris was saying, she began to realize what it meant. He may have been speaking metaphorically about paths, but in actuality he was talking about changing his life for her. As it sunk in, she was overcome in that moment by an overpowering sense of love. She turned her head to hide the smile that was getting bigger. She needed to slow down. This was getting serious. They had just talked two days ago about going slow, but she realized that although she might be able to control her head, her heart was going full throttle in spite of that. She took a deep breath before leaning back into Chris and settling into his arms for the rest of the trip. All of this should have been making her nervous and scared but all she felt was happy.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7. Dinner and Dancing**

The car rolled up to an old white house. Actually it was more like a small country mansion, Chris thought. It was a three story house with a bit of a Victorian style to its architecture mixed with colonial overtones but the scrolled wooden gables and trim betrayed its Scandinavian heritage. It was impressive in its size and style for an "old farmhouse" as was the property surrounding it. A mix of shapely pruned trees in bloom and well manicured green lawns and flower beds showed an extensive attention to gardening detail. The driveway was lined with colourful flower gardens that were equally impressive and well maintained.

There was a large circular flower garden in front of the house and the driveway circled around it. The car pulled around, stopping in front of a wide set of patio stairs leading to a set of large arched brown oak double doors held on with black wrought iron strap hinges and surrounded by scroll carved door frames.

For all its grandness, it didn't really compare to some of the wealthy houses of modern day, but for a farm house handed down at least three generations ago it was impressive in its own right.

"Come on. I'll show you around." Anne leapt out when the chauffeur opened the car door. She led Chris up the stairs and through the front doors. "Hello?" Anne called out as they entered. "Per? Elise? Anyone home?" Her words echoed in the grand foyer. The roof was three stories high in this room with stairways leading up on both sides. It made Anne's voice echo.

"No one home. We are early, and I suppose Elise wasn't expecting us so soon. I guess it's just us. Come." Anne took her coat off and threw it on a chair, stretching and yawning as she did. "Would you like something to drink?"

"Sure. Anything would be good." Chris replied while still staring around at the grandeur of the place. He wasn't sure what he had expected. From what he'd learned so far, he knew Anne and Elise had a fair bit of money. This place reflected that in some ways, but in other ways not. It was still modest in many ways despite its size. It wasn't a house built to show off its grandeur so much as it was a home built for someone perhaps of nobility. It was a strange contradiction. "Doesn't Elise work in Oslo?" He called to her.

Anne disappeared for a couple minutes before returning with a couple wine glasses with orange juice in them. "We both do at times, but we have a small office in Arendal where we can work closer to home. She's been there the last couple days."

Anne smirked at him. "Skol." She clinked their glasses and drank.

Chris did the same but was surprised when he suddenly realized it wasn't just orange juice.

"The orange juice makes the champagne just a little more fun." She grinned. "And I thought maybe it would keep me from spilling it."

Chris chuckled at her.

She took his hand again and gave him the quick tour of her home. There were a lot of empty bedrooms for potential family, guests or staff. But there weren't really any staff or other guests who lived here. Anne explained that Per lived here for a while after her parents had died but when she and Elise were old enough Per had moved back to his own home. He still worked for them occasionally when they came home, but he didn't live here.

From one of the back rooms on the second floor Chris could see the gardens Anne had spoke of. There were both flower and vegetable gardens growing in the back yard and whoever tended them definitely had a green thumb. The flowers were amazing. Behind that was a narrow field with crops growing and beyond that water. The Nidelva river, just as Anne had described.

They sat and talked for a while as they stared out the window. Anne filled Chris in on some of the history of their house and on the gardens that she and Elise liked to keep. She admitted again that much of the success of it was due to their gardener as neither her nor Elise had the time to properly tend it.

As they returned to the main floor, they strolled through into a large empty room with hardwood floors and a very high ceiling. Chris looked around noting the rather ornate architecture that was almost obscured overheard by a very extensive lighting system in the ceiling along with a couple disco balls. "Ballroom?" He questioned with a smirk.

"Dance room. We used to have small parties here when we were younger. Not so much any more. Elise and I like to dance once in a while and let off a little steam, sometimes with a friend or two, so we like to make it fun. It's not exactly as my grandmother envisioned her ballroom but we dance to the same ideal and free spirit that she lived by. Want to see?" She put her glass down and gave him a sly grin that dared him to say 'Yes'.

Chris shrugged as he watched her back away, shoulders and hips beginning to move to some unheard rhythm and music. All the while her eyes stayed locked on him and an excited grin was etched on her face. At the far wall she picked up a remote. Moving in time to that secret rhythm she pointed it at him.

The blinds went down, lights went out and a loud rhythmic drum beat began thrumming like a fast pulse in the darkened room. A low synthesized tune began playing from hidden speakers. The tune began muffled, matching the quick dance beat, but grew louder to a crescendo that exploded into a fast paced dance rhythm. At the same moment, all the dance lighting came on, moving, twirling and flashing to the beat. Lights of all colours flashed about. Laser lights flashed patterns across the floor, walls and ceiling creating shapes and designs. The disco balls spun flashing sparkling lights everywhere.

Chris just stood in amazement. This wasn't just a dance room. This place rivalled some of the best dance clubs he'd ever seen. The light show was perfectly choreographed to the beat of the music.

He stood agape in wonder of the light show when he finally caught sight of Anne. Her hips were swaying, shoulders moving, arms waving in the air and feet tapping as she danced her way over to him. Everything about the way she moved seemed so natural.

She held out a hand, still grooving to the beat. An excited grin crossed her face that he couldn't refuse and he let her lead him out onto the middle of the dance floor. Chris wasn't a bad dancer, he just didn't do it much and always felt a little self conscious the few times he'd gone dancing at night clubs with friends. He could hold his own when necessary and so he did his best to keep up with this woman who seemed to have rhythm in her blood. The music was catchy and enticing. It begged one to shake and move with it. He was careful as he started. His neck still hurt although the painkillers seemed to be doing their job.

As they moved together on the dance floor he couldn't help but stare at her. At times he couldn't tell if she was dancing to the music or if the music came from her movement. The way her body moved and flowed seemed so natural and beautiful. With her eyes closed, arms in the air, her body seemed to paralyze him and he found it hard to keep time with the music. He began to laugh at himself when she opened her eyes.

Anne grinned at him looking excited. She danced back towards him, twirling around in front of him several times, laughing, before taking his hands and spinning him around. Chris too was laughing as he turned but stopped suddenly, half way around, when he found himself facing someone else.

She had a more serious look on her face and held her hands on her hips. She was a little taller than Anne, dressed in a snug stylish black leather jacket and black tights that revealed a very nice figure. Her wavy blond hair hung around her shoulders framing a vary attractive face that held a very similar bone structure to Anne. "Elise," he surmised. He looked back to Anne who was smiling excitedly at her sister.

Elise's head began bobbing to the beat. The rhythm worked its way through her body and a sly grin, similar to Anne's, crossed her face. She broke out in to full dance as Anne took her hand. The two began grooving, twirling, twisting, in ways that made Chris drool. At times the word sexy was an understatement, and yet at the same time it all seemed so innocent. The free expression of movement, uninhibited, was something that always eluded him on the dance floor. He could move to the beat but it always seemed a bit forced. The way these two danced, it was like the music was born within them. They were exciting to watch. They spun each other around playfully holding hands.

When the music stopped, the normal room lights came back on and the girls began laughing and hugging.

"Why didn't you tell me you'd be home early. I didn't expect you until tomorrow." Elise playfully scolded Anne slapping her on the shoulder.

"Oh, we just kind of happened to be in the neighbourhood and so came home." Anne grinned at her.

"We?" Elise looked to Chris. "And you are?"

"Elise, this is Chris. Chris, my sister Elise." Anne made introductions.

Elise reached out a hand with a skeptical look. "So, your the latest stray."

Chris took the hand and shook it with a bit of confusion. He wondered what she meant by 'the latest stray'. Did Anne bring other men home like this? Thoughts began racing through his head again wondering what he may have gotten himself into.

His thoughts must have made it to his face because Anne caught the look and she herself got a funny look. "Elise, you brat. You make me sound like a tramp."

Elise tried to look innocent. "Well it's true, he's not the first stray you've brought home."

Anne huffed a sigh of disgust. "Sorry Chris, but the one word she's purposely leaving out to aggravate me is 'animals'. 'Stray animals.' I don't bring men home the way this little brat is insinuating. And it's been years since I did something like that."

"Men, animals... What's the difference?" Elise offered somewhat sarcastically.

"I take it things aren't going well with Hans." Anne shot back.

Elsie was silent as she looked to Chris for a moment before turning back to Anne. She said nothing, not wanting to drag her personal life out in front of a stranger.

Anne however picked up on the subtle rise in temper from her sister and regretted her last comment. "I'm sorry, Elise. That was uncalled for."

Picking up on the tension, Chris stepped in. "Elise, it's been a pleasure to finally meet you. Anne speaks of you often, but I sense you could really use some time alone with her. I'd be happy to step outside for a while if you two would like to talk. Really, I don't mind. The gardens out there are beautiful."

Elise looked hard at Chris but spoke to Anne. "Where'd you find this one?" She sounded intrigued as eyed him up and down walking around behind him.

Chris felt a little self conscious at being evaluated like that. In the same way that Anne had intimidated him on the plane just by her presence and persona, Elise now had the same bearing only much more so. She made him feel... He couldn't place it. Subordinate maybe, but not inferior. She too held herself with a level of confidence and sophistication like her sister but one that surpassed even Anne. He remembered Anne's comment then that Elise was more of a 'corporate business tycoon'. This he could believe. She had a look of authority. You did what this woman told you without question. It wasn't a spoken thing, just a manner. And yet, it juxtaposed against what he just witnessed moments ago on the dance floor.

"Did you just get off work?" Anne asked to lead the conversation away.

"Yeah." Elise let out a small sigh looking away from Chris and back to her sister.

"So is this what you wear to work now? Leather and tights?" Anne teased. "My sister! The corporate bad ass." Anne began laughing.

"That's Miss Bad Ass to you little sis." She chuckled back. "I got home a few minutes ago and changed before I came down. So what do you do Chris?" She asked somewhat sarcastically with out looking at him.

"Elise!" Anne scolded.

"What? Just making sure he's not some deadbeat gold digger." She looked at him a little more coldly.

Chris found Elsie to be a hard one to read. He couldn't tell if she was teasing or serious. She seemed to have similar fun loving spirit as her sister but at the same time it was masked under a cold calculating streak mixed with sarcasm. It was as if she had the personality of Anne at one time but it had gone sour.

"He's a research scientist. Now be nice." Anne spoke firmly.

"And what sort of science do you research?" Elise pressed.

"Global effects on plants and wildlife and vice versa, mostly." Chris offered.

"Saving the world are we?" Elise replied again with that same bit of of sarcasm. "Well, I guess that fits since Anne is always on one campaign or another to save the world too." She sighed. "Got plans for dinner?" She asked, turning to Anne.

"I thought maybe we'd go out." Anne offered.

"Blah. I've been eating out all week." Elise responded.

"If you got food, I'll cook." Chris offered.

Both girls looked at him with a bit of surprise and skepticism. Anne raised an eyebrow at him.

"It's not going to be a science experiment, is it?" Elise asked with a scowl.

"Elise! Be polite." Anne scolded her again.

"It's alright. I know my way around a pot and spoon." Chris cut in. "Let me cook. It'll give you two some time alone together."

"He's a sensitive one isn't he." Elise commented to Anne, as she eyed Chris up again.

"Where's Per?" Anne asked trying to distract from the demeaning comment.

"I gave him the day off. I didn't think you'd be back until tomorrow."

"Let me get Chris going in the kitchen and then we can chat. Okay?" Anne looked to her sister who was staring through the curtains of one of the large windows.

"Yeah, sure." Elise said dismissively with out looking at her.

Anne moved over to her. "Hey, you alright sis?" She put a hand on her sisters back.

Elise turned and pulled Anne into a hug. "Yeah. Sorry. I'm just glad your home." She gave Anne a half hearted smile.

They parted and Anne led Chris down the hall to the kitchen. She showed him around the kitchen, showed him the pantry of food, the freezer and a few other things to get him started. "If you need anything holler." Then she left Chris alone.

He took inventory before deciding what he was going to make. He was excited. Chris loved cooking. He'd spent so many meals eating bad meals in camps, one pot dishes or meals from a bag or a tin can in one remote area of the world or another, that when he finally got to make a home cooked meal it was not something to be wasted. Because of that, he had taken the time years ago to really learn how to cook well.

Within minutes he had a soup base simmering on the stove. He sliced up some potatoes, onions and a few other vegetables to add along with some fish and crispy bacon he'd fried up. He then picked through the cupboard for some spices to liven it up.

Before adding the spices, he stopped suddenly remembering something he'd seen while touring the house. Chris picked up a bowl and knife and went outside to the gardens out back, where he'd seen some fresh dill growing. True to his expectation, he found a whole garden full of fresh herbs and spices growing. He cut some cilantro, green onion, oregano and several others before heading back in.

Feeling pleased with his find, Chris added what he wanted to the soup and then pulled out a bag of flour to make biscuits. He threw some chopped dill into the mix and just before putting it in the oven he sprinkled a little shredded cheese on top.

While everything was cooking Chris wandered outside again until he found a few more things he thought might work for desert. Gathering what he needed, he went back inside. He decided he liked the old houses with a kitchen door that opened on to the garden. It made cooking with fresh things easier.

With a couple more items on the stove, Chris snooped around the house a little to find a small dining room just down the hall. He rooted around again to find some dishes and picked out a bottle of wine to go with the meal and one for dessert.

When everything was ready and the table set he went looking for the girls. He found them sitting together on a sofa talking quietly. They were in a small study on the second floor that overlooked the drive in front of the house.

The door was open but Chris knocked anyway. "Sorry to interrupt, but dinner is ready whenever you are."

Anne smiled happily at him. Elise still had a look of skepticism. Both, however had an underlying look of concern. It was perhaps more of an intuitive thing he picked up, but it was there. Whatever they had been talking about was something upsetting them both. Either way, he tried to mind his own business and returned to the kitchen to dish up.

Chris had just finished putting the food out when the girls arrived.

Anne walked in smiling, sniffing, with her eyes closed. "This smells...wonderful." She commented. Even Elise had trouble hiding a smile.

They settled in as Chris dished everyone up.

After trying the soup and biscuits, Anne was grinning ear to ear at both Chris and Elise.

Elise finally spoke up. "Alright sis, I'll admit it, you did okay with this stray. He knows how to cook. And pilfer my garden." She pointed her spoon at Chris and gave him a hairy eyeball. "But I'll forgive you 'cause this is alright."

"You're welcome." Chris replied sincerely.

"Do you need a job?" Elise eyed him again. "I could use a cook like you."

Chris chuckled. "I don't think I could ever cook professionally. I really enjoy cooking for myself and for friends, but I think if I had to do it daily as a job I'd learn to hate it. Sometimes it's good to find something you like to do as a career, but other times I think it can take the joy out of it."

Elise was about to say something in response but refrained. She looked at Chris again, and he thought the skepticism seemed to wain just a little. Her face softened just a bit.

The rest of dinner seemed to go a little more pleasantly as did their conversation. Elise seemed a little less closed off to Chris and more accepting. Filling a hungry stomach with good food always went a long way to gaining people's approval. In spite of that, Elise's sarcastic remarks continued and Chris began to notice its effects on Anne. It was starting to bother her and wear her down. It bothered him too. He thought perhaps her comments weren't meant to be mean but they came off that way. He remembered Anne's comment getting off the plane, "Happiness can be infectious. But so can negativity. Which world do you want to live in?" and realized there were reasons for Anne's deliberately positive attitude. Reasons that had consciously made her decide not to be like her sister. Chris began to wonder if this was the "negative influence" Anne had spoke of, that Hans had on Elise. It was almost draining on you. More than once Chris thought of saying something to her about it, but he just didn't feel right about speaking up about it. Not here at least. They were meeting for the first time, and she obviously had something on her mind that was putting her in a bad mood. Hence the reason he left Elise alone with Anne to talk. Maybe she was acting out of character because of her mood. He tried to give her the benefit of the doubt.

When they finished eating, Chris insisted they stay seated while he cleaned up the dishes and brought out dessert. He returned with a bottle of wine. "Do you mind if I open this? I thought it would go well with dessert."

Both Anne and Elise eyed the thirty year old bottle of Port, Chris had brought out. Anne approved with a delightful grin. Elise nodded but still refrained from showing any approval. Chris pulled the cork and poured before returning to the kitchen.

The girls were quiet when he returned. Both waiting in anticipation to see what he'd made for dessert.

When Chris returned, Anne's eyes lit up again and she grinned ear to ear. "You made chocolate marble cheesecake! With cloudberries!"

Chris smiled at her excitement.

Elise scowled. "You told him, didn't you?"

Anne looked up with concern. "Honest, Elise, I didn't even know he could cook until he volunteered an hour ago. I didn't say a thing." She held her hands up in surrender and looked at Chris, grinning. "It's her favourite. And I'm sorry but my stubborn sister is too much of a sourpuss to admit that you, my dear, are a fantastic boyfriend and an amazing cook."

Grinning like a child, Anne dug into her cake. Her eyes went wide as she smeared the cake around inside her mouth with her tongue. She nearly dropped her fork it tasted so good.

"Oh my god, Elise!" She closed her eyes as she took a second bite, moaning in satisfaction.

Elise began to chuckle at her sisters antics. "Is it really that good?" She raised a questioning eyebrow at Anne as she stuck a fork in her own cake.

Anne pointed her fork at her sister. "I dare you to to take one bite and and tell me you wouldn't sell your soul to this man for second."

Chris began to chuckle at her as he dug into his own cake. He had to admit, this one turned out pretty good. And the fresh mint and cloud berries he'd found in the garden added just that little bit of extra.

Elise took her first bite slowly, savouring the taste. Her eyes closed as she let out a soft sigh of satisfaction. With her eyes still closed she spoke to Chris. "You put mint leaves in it." Her eyes opened and stared at him. "Stolen from my garden again, no doubt." She smirked at him. "Well Chris, I hate to give my sister that satisfaction of being right, but...my soul is yours! This is good." She dove in for a second, third and fourth bite. Anne and Chris followed suit. No one spoke until they were finished. It was too good to be interrupted by talking.

When Elise finished, she leaned back in her chair and let out a long sigh of satisfaction. "Where in heaven or hell did you learn to make such mind altering cake like this?"

Chris grinned back. "Charles Lafontaine."

"And he was...?" Elise questioned.

"Charles was a French botanist I spent a couple months with in Argentina. His father however was a sous chef somewhere in Paris and taught him some of the finer points of cooking. Charles graciously passed along a few of those during our time together."

"Is he single?" Elise asked.

Anne began laughing at her.

"If he can cook as good or better than you, I don't care who he is or how old. I'd marry him." Elise smirked as she sipped her wine.

"I always thought the stomach was the way to a mans heart." Chris commented.

"Maybe," Elise replied, "but sometimes a girl likes a man who can take care of her in ways no one else can."

"I assume you're still referring to cooking?" Chris teased her.

Both girls began to laugh.

"Sensitive, sense of humour, and he can cook. I suppose you could do a lot worse than this stray. At least he could hold his own around the house." If it was said in a different tone it might have seemed like harmless teasing, but from Elise, as always it came out a little bit too cold and insulting. She finished off her wine before pouring herself another glass.

Anne had a look of annoyance on her face. Everything was always sarcasm and put downs with Elise lately and Anne was getting tired of it. It was like a game where she was always put in the position of trying to gain Elise's approval for everything and she'd had enough of it.

"Elise, Chris just cooked you one of the best meals you've probably had in months. Can't you show a little respect and appreciation? What can't you just accept that. Say 'thank you' and be happy. You're always evaluating and judging everything against some unattainable standard and having to put everyone down with your sarcastic remarks. Why do you have to be so cold?" Anne sighed shaking her head. She was ashamed at her own outburst.

"When are you going to wise up Anne. The world isn't all teddy bears and lollipops. People are watching you and they are not kind. What you do reflects on me and our company. He reflects on me," she pointed to Chris, "and has been for days and I didn't even know who the hell he was until tonight. Tea at the palace? What the hell were you thinking? Are you trying to show off? Imagine my surprise when reporters showed up at the office with the tabloids showing my sister kissing some guy I've never even heard of. Or photos of you leaving the police station with him. What the hell happened? Have you forgotten who you are?"

Anne was quiet and red faced. Chris could tell she was angry and embarrassed by this outburst. He could tell she was ashamed at being cast out and put down like this in front of him, but he gave her credit for holding her tongue as long as she did. He slipped a hand under the table and took hers in his own. The tension in her subsided a little as she squeezed his hand back.

Anne took a breath to calm herself. "Do you want explanations?" She offered firmly. "Fine. We went to the palace because it was a nice day, it was close to Chris's hotel, and I thought it would be a nice quiet place to talk. As for the the police station, Chris was attacked, beaten and robbed on the way to meet me for dinner. Are you happy! Elsie I don't care what the stupid tabloids say and you shouldn't either. You pretend to be so tough all the time but you let them get under your skin like this and they rule your life. I'm sorry I didn't send you hourly memos of my life and meeting Chris. I didn't realize you were keeping such close tabs on me. Maybe if you spent more time focusing on your own life for a change, you and Hans wouldn't be having so many problems and you'd stop looking to blame me for everything."

Elise silently glared at Anne, stood up tossing her napkin on the table and walked out.

Anne let out a long sigh of tense frustration. She wanted to cry. "Why does she have to be like this? I'm so sorry Chris." She turned to Chris with a tears in her eyes and hugged him. Anne kissed him on the cheek before standing up to go after her sister.

"Elise! Elise, wait." Anne ran down the hall after her. Chris could hear her calling "I'm sorry." But it was too late. Elise walked out the door and sped away from the house in her car ignoring Anne's call to return.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight. Love and Duplicity.**

Chris followed Anne out the door. She was standing at the top of the front porch steps, staring into the darkness where her sister had sped off. There were tears running down her face. He pulled her close and held her tight as she cried. There were things going on here he didn't quite understand but that would have to wait. He too was frustrated with Elise and her attitude but he knew it didn't amount to anything compared to what Anne was probably feeling right now. It was painful watching her in pain. He wished there was more he could do to comfort her than just hold her.

Anne composed herself after a few minutes and led Chris to sit beside her on the steps under the clear night sky. "I'm so sorry Chris. I didn't mean to ruin the evening like that." She sobbed a little more.

"It'll be okay. It's just a bump in the road." He reassured her. "Things will get better."

"How do you know?"

"Because you, my dear sweet Anne, have a terrible memory." He teased.

A smile crept across her teary eyed face. "Alright, what have I forgotten this time?"

"Unless you were lying to me on the plane, you told me you love Elise and Elise loves you. If so, she'll come around. Love runs deeper than a little argument. Just give her a little time to cool off. I take it your talk with her earlier was about Hans and that's why she got so upset?"

Anne wiped her eyes. "Yeah, she thinks he's gotten us into a potentially dangerous deal with our company. If things don't go right we could loose everything. I didn't know about the tabloids though. Sorry about that."

"She must be wound up pretty tight. Stressed." He commented.

"Yes." She choked out.

"Makes it easy to lose ones temper and say or do things you don't mean." He commented again.

Anne turned to look at him. His eyes caught her, captured her and held her for a few seconds before she responded. "Thank you." She whispered. "Thank you for helping me see the positive."

"It's alright." He said nonchalantly. "I met a good teacher lately who's helping me to see the sunnier side of life." He grinned back.

Anne grinned at him but couldn't take it anymore. She kissed him. She kissed him gently and held it for much longer than she expected to. Amidst the pain of everything, it just felt so good and she didn't want to let go of that feeling. When she released him, she leaned in close resting her head on his shoulder.

Chris put an arm around her and held her as they stared out at the night sky. "Besides, the evening isn't really ruined. I still have you. And I actually made it to dinner without getting beaten up."

Anne chuckled at him. "Yeah, it was touch and go there until you made supper for us." Her smile faded as she looked back to him. "Thank you Chris." She shivered in the cool night air. "This would be so hard without you."

"You're welcome. Come on. Let's go in. I'm getting cold too." he suggested.

They headed back to the dining room where the mess from supper still lingered, reminding them that supper had started with three people and ended with two. Chris and Anne quietly cleared the table together and put away the leftovers.

Afterwords, Anne led Chris upstairs to the same small lounge where he'd found Elise and Anne talking. There was a sofa with coffee tables and an old fire place that had been converted to gas. She flipped a switch and flames appeared immediately giving the room a comfy ambiance.

Anne settled into the couch and stared at the fire losing herself in thought.

Chris paused before sitting. "Can I get you something to drink? Tea, or some more wine..."

Anne thought for a moment. "Tea, thank you."

"Good choice." Chris answered.

"Why?" She looked up at him.

"Because," he returned, "Tea is for comforting your sorrows. Wine is for drowning them." He smiled.

Anne chuckled. "What if I mix the two?"

Chris laughed. "You ruin the wine and the tea and end up with something that tastes nasty, creating more sorrow than before."

Anne snickered to herself as Chris left the room and then turned back to the fire.

He returned shortly carrying a tray with two cups and a pot of tea and served them both before settling in beside Anne. The fire was toasty warm now and both were enjoying the heat.

Anne handed Chris a small newspaper covered in flashy titles and photos of people. It was written in Norwegian so he couldn't read it but the style of it and the photos gave most of it away. It was one of the gossip tabloids.

"Elise must have brought these to show me." Anne flipped a couple pages for Chris and pointed. There was a blurry picture of Anne and Chris kissing at the palace. It was blurry enough that you couldn't make out Chris's face. Even Anne's was difficult to see but if you knew her, you'd probably recognize her.

"I'm sorry Chris. I didn't mean for this to happen." Anne looked defeated. The tears started again.

"What does it say?" Chris asked her.

"What's it matter? I don't like giving this garbage the time of day anyway. I'm just sorry I got you into it."

"Anne, we've got these stupid papers back home too. Everybody does. Sometimes reading them is good for a laugh, but everyone knows they're full of lies. So read me some lies and let's have a laugh together."

"It's embarrassingly stupid." Anne covered her face with her hand and smiled awkwardly.

"So what? You're good with embarrassing. I've seen you." He teased.

"Okay." She conceded after a look from Chris. "It says... _'Has the little princess finally found love after living forever under the cold thumb of the ice queen?'_ It goes on to say more of the same rubbish."

"Rubbish? That's not rubbish. It's a legitimate question that I too would like to know the answer to." He turned a serious look to Anne, but couldn't hold it and broke out smiling. "Has the little princess found love?"

Anne's face lit up as she stared into his eyes grinning. "I don't know. I haven't finished reading the article. But it looks like a strong possibility. Do you think he loves her? Or is he just using her to get into her palace?"

"Well...she does have a nice palace." Chris eyed her up and down teasingly. "It's a little early to say, but it certainly does look like love is in the air." He flirted back.

Anne bit her lip, grinning at him.

"Let me see another one. I want to know more about this couple." He grabbed another gossip magazine and began flipping pages. He stopped on page three and held it out for her. "Here they are again, ducking into a mysterious black car." This photo was also as poorly shot as the last one, but you could make out Chris's face better. "What's it say?" He handed it Anne to translate.

"Oh god...It says _'Mystery lover? Does the little princess prefer bad boys?_ ' It's sooo stupid." She read on in a mocking animated tone like a reporter delivering the latest news flash. _'Fashion mogul, Anne Brekke, was seen leaving the police station the other night with the same mystery man whom she had been seen kissing the day before. Has she escaped the icy rule of her older sister, the CEO and corporate giant of Elan Enterprises only to fall in with a bad crowd? Is she on a downward spiral...'_ Anne paused and became serious before she read on dropping the mocking tone. _'...like her sister...Details on page seven._ "

Anne began flipping pages to find page seven. There were two half page photos. One of Elise entering the office tower alone. The other was a tall handsome man with dark hair in an expensive business suit, walking arm in arm with a woman with dark hair. She looked to be a little older than him but was just as impeccably dressed. She had dark brown hair that was cut shoulder length but was not really done in a flattering style. The two were eyeing each other with smiles the looked a little too warm to be friendly.

"Bastard!" Anne swore.

Chris was taken by surprise. "What?" He chuckled awkwardly.

"That's Hans. And that woman is, or was, his ex. Madeline Hauge." She stared for a moment more. "You see, this is what I hate about tabloids. If you go by the picture it looks like he's cheating on Elsie. But it's a tabloid and their full of lies. You just don't know what to believe judging by this."

"But you know something more don't you?"

"Yeah." She admitted quietly. "Elise told me she's spotted them together a few times in the last couple months. She says she asked him if he ever sees her anymore and he denied it right after she saw them together. He is a lying bastard. Dammit! And I made that stupid crack about her and Hans. God, no wonder she's was mad at me for that." She sighed deeply and rubbed her forehead trying to figure out what to do next. "What am I going to do Chris?"

"Send her a text. Maybe she's cooled off and will come home." He offered.

Anne pulled her phone from her pocket and began typing. _"Just saw the tabloids. I'm so sorry, I didn't know about Hans. Please come home. I love you."_ She hit send.

Anne slumped back into the sofa and covered her eyes with her free hand. She sniffled as the tears started to trickle down again.

Chris put an arm around her and pulled her close. Anne snuggled into him resting her head on his lap.

"Was she always this sarcastic? She seems very adept at keeping people at arms length." Chris commented.

"No. When we were little, she was so sweet. She would do things for me just to get me to smile."

"Like what?"

"Sometimes she'd pick flowers for me, or bake cookies just so she could share with me." Anne wiped her eyes. "When I was about six or seven years old, I was biking down the road. In the ditch I found a dog that was hurt. I brought it home and with my dads help we tried to care for it. It only lasted a few days before it died. My dad said that it was old and it was just its time to go. There was nothing we could have done. I was heartbroken. I cried off and on for several days. About a week after it died, Elise showed up one morning with a new puppy and gave it to me. It brought me so much happiness, not just because it was a new puppy, but because it was something she did just for me to cheer me up. I found out later that she biked with Per for three hours down the road and back to a neighbours just to get the puppy for me. He could have drove her but she insisted on biking. She said working for it made it mean more."

Anne went quiet for a few minutes. Her tears seemed to stop with the memories but she seemed unsettled to Chris.

"The old dog...the one that died," Anne continued quietly, "I named him Old Stray." She took a deep breath and tried to clear her mind. "I'm sorry Chris," she sat up. "I'm sorry for being such an emotional basket case." She turned, kissed him on the cheek and hugged him tight. "Thank you for being here with with me." She let go and sat back. "That dinner was excellent, by the way. In spite of her leaving, I think you still may have earned a few points with Elise."

"She's a tough one to get to know isn't she? Not very trusting." Chris noted.

Anne felt saddened by the comment because she knew it was true. Her sister had grown cold over the years. Anne reached over and took Chris's hand in her own, feeling a sudden need for some warm physical contact. "We should get some sleep. I know I'll feel better after some rest."

They stood up and headed for their rooms. At the door to Anne's room, Chris kissed her softly goodnight. They smiled, looking into each other's eyes. There was a moment of shy awkwardness shared between them and both knew what the other was thinking. Tonight just wasn't the night. It was too soon.

"Goodnight princess." He smiled at her as he walked down the hall to his own room.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9. Mountain Side.**

Elise sat still in the right seat of the cockpit as the helicopter sped through the night. Her pilot, Jan, who sat beside her, seemed to be doing okay. He had strongly objected to the the night flight into the mountains at first. It was dangerous. He was new to the company, but Elise reassured him that they did this quite often with his predecessor. Unfortunately his predecessor had retired last year and Elise was forced to hire a replacement.

She stared out the window at the blackness. It was hard to see anything except the reflection of the cockpit instruments on the windows. She stared anyway, lost in thought. After leaving the house and the fight with Anne, she had called her pilot and drove straight to the Arendal airport. She needed out. She felt like she was going to crack and needed to get away before she did.

Elise dismissed the thought for the moment, not wanting her emotions to come out in front of the pilot. He was an ex-military pilot with an impressive resume of experience so she had confidence in his abilities but she really didn't know him and had no desire to be making friends at the moment. He was an employee under her. Her head was full of too much right now.

Elise sighed and took a deep breath when the pilot interrupted her. "Ms. Brekke, we're here." He pulled the helicopter into a hover and waited in the darkness, watching the altimeter carefully.

"Thank you." Elise nodded, speaking into the headset mic. She reached forward and began changing comm frequencies on the aircrafts radio. When she found the one she wanted an automated tone came through her head set. She hit the transmit switch several times on the cyclic and then waited.

Both looked out the window somewhat anxiously into the darkness.

A sigh of relief came to Elise when a red landing light came on somewhere down below. It was followed by another and then another. One after another the red landing lights came on in sequence, surrounding a circular grass landing area encompassed by tall spruce trees. When the last landing light came on so did the flood lights. The flood lights lit up the whole area surrounding and including the grass pad, making a night landing on a mountain side as simple as a daytime one. She noted a look of relief on the pilots face as he began their decent.

As the skids touched down, Elise turned to the pilot. "See, not so bad, hey?" She grinned. He smirked and nodded back. Elise took off her head set, hanging it up behind her, and reached behind the seat for her duffle bag before exiting. She ducked under the beating rotors and made her way off to the edge of the landing pad, holding onto her hair that was flying around in the wind. She crouched down and waited as the engine spooled up faster.

In seconds the helicopter was gone and Elise was alone. She crossed the grass landing pad to a short wooden post, set in the ground with a small metal electrical box attached to it. Opening the lid, she hit a switch and all the landing lights and flood lights went out leaving her in complete darkness.

Elise dropped her duffle, let out a deep breath and sat down of top of it listening to the fading sound of the helicopter. In a few minutes it too was gone. The only sound left was the wind in the trees. As her eyes adjusted she could make out the dark outline of the mountains against the starry night sky. It was a familiar outline that brought a smile to her face. She stared into the sky at the stars trying to forget the world she'd left behind. She was alone on a mountain side, miles from anyone. In all the places she'd been or lived, this was the only place she ever felt at home or at peace. No one was watching, no one was listening or judging. She didn't have to dress up or act a certain way. There was no one. Nothing else mattered here.

Elise sat up straighter when a thought came to her that there might be a bear or two other in the area. She'd often seen bears up here as well as wolves, but she dismissed it, reasoning that the lights and helicopter noise would have scared them off for a little while.

The mountain wind was cold as it whipped about her but she didn't seem to notice. It wasn't until she began to yawn that she stood up and collected her duffle bag. Crossing the landing field and then another small clearing she made her way through the darkness and stopped at the front door to her family's cabin.

Reaching up over the doorframe, Elise found the key and entered. She inhaled deeply as she entered, taking in the smells of wood, old smoke, and the familiar odours of the cabin. The smells stimulated her senses and took her back to her childhood. Memories that brought smiles to her face. Memories that made her feel some sense of calm and peace. She was home.

It was a small rustic looking cabin but large enough to have two tiny bed rooms. In the main room there was a tiny kitchenette, fireplace, a table and chairs, and two rustic timber frame sofas with cushions. The wall opposite from the door had large windows covering most of the wall that gave a spectacular view of the mountain in the morning light. It was one of the reasons Elise loved waking up here.

The automated landing system Elise had put in, was powered by batteries and solar panels and she had been very tempted, at the time, to wire in electricity to the cabin as well. She had decided against it preferring to keep the cabin rustic the way her father had built it. She was thankful she had kept it this way. There was something nice about using kerosene lamps and having to fetch your own water from the stream that she liked.

Out of habit, Elise locked the door behind her and then laughed at herself for doing so before tossing the duffle bag and key on the table. Above the fire place she retrieved a match and stuck it against the stone mantle, illuminating the room. She lit an old kerosene lamp that was sitting on the hearth and set it on a small end table by one of the sofas. From a trunk in the corner by the fireplace, she pulled out a thick blanket and settled into the sofa. She could have lit the fireplace to heat the cabin but she was too tired and she really didn't feel that cold. Likewise she could have slept in a bed, in one of the bedrooms, but she wanted to wake up to the view of the mountains through the window in the morning.

As she settled in, Elise put out the lamp. Feeling a lump underneath her, she reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. There was no cell reception here, which was another reason she liked this place. She was cut off. No one could bother her. On an impulse before putting it away, she flipped it on and saw one unread text from her sister. It must have come through just as she was flying out of the airport and she hadn't heard it due to the noise of the rotors.

The text was short, but the last three words caught in her throat and brought tears to her eyes. "I love you too Anne," she spoke into the night. "And I'm sorry." She began to cry. The flood she had been holding back on the helicopter was letting go. It was more than she could handle and she needed to let it out. She wanted to let it out. This was the only place where she could.

Elise cried alone in the darkness for a long time. She cried for the way she treated her sister, she cried for the mess she was in with Hans, and she cried for the mess their company was in. In the end she found herself crying for an old dog named Stray. It all seemed to begin with him, so many years ago. She began to trace her life over the years and saw the changes in herself, both good and bad. She cried for the things she'd lost, the things she'd given up and the things she'd sacrificed to get where she was today. She felt physically and emotionally drained. She had nothing left to give. That was why she had left. That was why she was here now. She needed to recharge and find some sense of peace before it was too late. She felt suffocated by her life. Confined. Misunderstood.

Back home she had a role to play. "Corporate Leader." She was the CEO. She had to be tough all the time. She had to be cold at times. And she hated it. She didn't want to be like that any more. It wasn't who she was. At least, it wasn't who she used to be... She felt lost. She didn't really know who she was anymore. She was something other people wanted. A tool other people needed to make money. She felt like her life's wasn't her own and she'd had enough of it. She didn't know how, but it was time to let go.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10 Bed and Breakfast**

The sun was coming in through the curtains when Chris awoke. Surprisingly he felt well rested and with only a minor headache. He rolled over in the narrow guest room bed and wondered how Anne was sleeping. Part of him had really wanted to spend the night with her, but the sensible side of him knew that sex, as good as it might be in the moment, would complicate things far more than he wanted right now and he just wasn't ready for that. Neither was she. He liked her too much. _No, he didn't just like her_. He admitted to himself. He was party sure he was in love with her. That thought put a smile on his face.

He was startled from those lingering thoughts a little later when there was a soft knock, the door opened and Anne stood there looking in. She was barefoot, dressed in a faded and ripped pair of blue jeans and a snug t-shirt but hadn't brushed her hair. She looked tired as though she didn't sleep much last night. She smiled at him anyway.

Chris pulled back the blankets and shuffled over making room for her on the narrow bed. He wanted so badly to cheer her up.

Anne grinned sleepily at him and climbed in fully clothed. Chris pulled the blankets back over her as she snuggled into him.

"Good morning princess." He teased. "Did you sleep?"

"No. Not very well. Too many thoughts swirling in my head." She admitted. "And you, how's your head?"

"Better. Did Elise contact you?"

"No."

"I'm sorry." He responded.

Anne felt him squeeze her just a little more and she snuggled herself in closer, burrowing her face into his neck. His rough stubble was scratchy on her face but she didn't care. The bed was warm and cozy from his body heat and she felt like she could stay here like this forever. She felt safe from the world with him. Her thoughts strayed from Chris, to the issues at hand and finally back to her sister. She began to giggle, "If Elise walked in right now and saw us she'd probably blow her top."

"Really? We're fully dressed. Well... You are, I'm still in pyjamas. It's not like we're naked in bed."

"Hmmm" she let out sleepily, still burrowed in his neck. "Maybe you should be." she whispered. Anne ran a hand under his pyjama shirt feeling his bare chest.

"Anne?" Chris chuckled softly.

She giggled and inhaled deeply before propping herself up on her elbow and smiling at him. "Don't worry sweetie, it's already morning and I still respect you." She traced her fingers across his chest again and stared into his eyes for a few seconds before climbing on top of him and sitting up. "I know we agreed to take things slow," she began unbuttoning his pyjama shirt, "but sometimes a girl just needs a little taste of what she's been dreaming about." She bit the corner of her lip through her grin and ran both hands up from his exposed stomach to his chest and back down, feeling his muscles.

Chris stared up at her, bewitched once more by those glacial blue eyes. She wore no make up, she looked tired and her hair was a total bed-head mess, yet he couldn't help think that she was the most amazingly beautiful woman he'd ever seen.

Anne griped his head with both hands and lowered herself down on him slowly, allowing their lips to meet. Her long messy hair fell all around his head obscuring it as they kissed. His arms wrapped tight around her as her body settled into his. She let out a soft moan before pulling her lips away. "Well...is my spell still working?" She grinned.

"I think so." Chris smiled back.

"Good. Cause I want scrambled eggs, sausage, and waffles. And make it quick, I'm starving."

"Oh really!" Chris laughed. Without warning, her flipped her over, ending up of top and pinning her arms up above her head. "Is that so." He teased.

Anne was laughing hard wriggling and trying to get free. "As the witch, I command you." She pleaded through her laughter.

Chris leaned in close to kiss her but held back, millimetres from her lips. "Breakfast comes at a cost." He whispered.

Anne tried to kiss him but he moved back, teasing her. He leaned in again but refrained from letting their lips touch. Anne growled and snapped her teeth at him like a feral animal but he pulled back again too quick for her. She giggled. "I will gladly and willingly sell you my whole body for a scrumptious breakfast." Anne stretched and yawned.

She was too damn cute to resist. He kissed her softly at first and let the passion build. When she let out a soft moan, that was the cue he was waiting for and he jumped off the bed.

"Wait! What...where.." Anne blinked looking confused.

Chris stood in the doorway with his pyjama shirt hanging open and smiled back deviously, "I have to make breakfast." He innocently ran a finger down his chest.

"You rotten tease. Get your pyjama'd ass back here. I'm not done kissing you yet!" She demanded.

"Try and catch me." He tore off down the hall in a run.

"You brat!" Anne leapt from the bed and ran after him laughing all the way.

Chris ran down the stairs barefoot, taking five and six steps at a time, praying he wouldn't trip and hit his head again, and then sprinted down the hall rounding the corner into the kitchen. He turned, expecting Anne to still be at the other end of the hall, but was surprised when she slammed into him, pinning him into the kitchen cupboards. She wrapped both arms and a leg around him and kissed him hard.

Anne ran a hand across his bare chest again as she kissed him. She wanted so badly to let her hand slip down lower and explore other regions of his body. In his pyjamas it would be so easy. She sighed and got control of herself. "It better be good." She whispered in a breathy voice.

"What?" He smiled back.

"Breakfast." She added.

"Or what?"

"Or you'll pay for it." She she grinned slyly. "In my room."

Chris laughed. "That sounds more like incentive for me to fail."

Anne moved off to sit in a chair by a small table in the corner. "No, either way, I win."

"How do you figure that?" Chris flipped on a burner and pulled out a frying pan.

"As I see it, either you cook me a really good breakfast, and I win, or you don't, and I take you to my room for...disciplinary action." She smiled devilishly. "And I win. Either way, I get to watch a half naked man cook for me." Anne gave him a dirty smile as she admired his exposed chest.

Chris poured a little oil in the pan and enjoyed the sound of it sizzling. "What if I cook you a really good breakfast and then just act badly afterwords?" He began cracking eggs into a bowl.

"Ooh. Best of both worlds. I like you're way of thinking." She laughed.

Chris crossed the kitchen and opened the back door.

"Where are you going?" Anne looked at him with surprise.

"Great eggs require fresh herbs and spices." He replied.

"Barefoot? Half dressed in pyjamas?" She gaped at him.

Chris looked down at himself. "Yeah. You're right." He pulled off his still unbuttoned pyjama shirt and threw it at her before walking outside.

Anne laughed out loud before getting up to follow. She held his pyjama shirt to her face and inhaled his scent before tossing it on the small table. She sighed to herself thinking how good he smelled. She sighed again thinking how good he looked walking through her garden half naked in the morning sunshine. The metaphor of that thought made her laugh. If ever there was a place for irony...a handsome naked man in her garden was it, she hoped.

She stood in the doorway and just admired him, revelling in the fantasies that came to mind. He was nice to watch. She sighed once more as the problems that lay ahead flooded in to her brain. She had to find her sister and make amends. She needed to look into the potentially bad deal Hans had gotten them into and she needed to find out if Hans had really been cheating on Elise. She had no idea where or how to begin. The stress was building. She couldn't imagine how Elise must feel right now.

"Hey"

"What?" Anne jumped, startled from her thoughts.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you." Chris apologized.

She sighed and pulled him into a hug. "It's alright. Just lost in thought over everything going on. I'm just trying to figure out what I need to do." She let him go. "What did you find?" She looked down at his hand.

"A few grass clippings, some dandelions, the usual." He teased.

She leaned in to smell the fresh green onion he'd picked as well as a few other herbs. A smile crossed her face again, pulling her out of the funk she was starting to slip into. She grabbed his hand in both of hers and put it to her lips kissing his knuckles. "Thank you Chris."

He looked back at her sincerely. "You're welcome."

He returned to the stove and as promised made her a fabulous breakfast.

Anne sighed in satisfaction as she drank the last of the freshly squeezed orange juice Chris had made her. "I'm sorry but I think we will need to save the bad behaviour and disciplinary action for later. I really want to head in to the office and start sorting all this out."

Chris reached across the table and squeezed her hand. "Sure. Where do you want to begin?"

"I don't know. I really wish Elise had called back."

"Can I offer a suggestion?" He asked.

"Please."

"You've already extended your hand to Elise, apologizing and telling her you love her. That ball is in her court now and there isn't much you can do except wait for her to respond. The issue of Hans cheating on Elise is also somewhat out of your hands too. Whether you find confirmation today, tomorrow or next week doesn't really change things much except for maybe some emotional stress, which is going to happen anyway no matter when you find out. But the issue of the bad business deal may be time sensitive and from what you explained it could be financially devastating. I would suggest we look into that first."

"I knew I brought you home for a reason." She smiled back. "And it's not just so I can ask you to cook and clean up breakfast." She laughed at him again. "But since you cooked, do you mind cleaning up, I'm going to make some calls and travel arrangements. And maybe take a shower." She stood combing her hair back with her hands and leaned over and kissed the top of his head. "Then we'll head out."

Chris nodded to her as she turned to leave. Anne glanced back over her shoulder leaving him with a warm smile.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11. Scene of the crime.**

The flight back to Oslo only took about a half hour. From the airport they caught a cab to the Ice Palace.

The Ice Palace was not a huge building compared to some of the others around it, but just as Anne had described, it did make you think of ice when you looked at it. The windows were tinted a cool reflective glacial blue colour that struck Chris suddenly when he realized they were almost the same colour as Anne's eyes. He realized he'd never be able to look at ice again with out thinking of her. But that was a good thing. He smiled to himself.

As she led Chris though the front door, he couldn't help but notice the same unstoppable confidence in Anne that he'd seen in the police station. Once again she had that aura like she owned the place. Chris chuckled to himself remembering that she DID own this place. Besides that, he enjoyed following her. The view was spectacular. In her business suit and skirt, he had a hard time this morning keeping his eyes off her legs. His mind kept flashing to images of Anne and himself in the kitchen. Her hands sliding across his bare chest, arms and legs wrapped around each other. He tried to keep his eyes up and focus straight ahead. He didn't want people at her work to see him for the first time as the guy who stared at her ass all the way in to the building.

Chris mentally slapped himself. Anne really did have him under a spell. Her sexual teasing this morning didn't help either. He couldn't believe he was doing this. He'd never been the type to ogle women or to objectify them in any way. But with Anne, he couldn't take his eyes off her. It wasn't some lustful mental groping or some fantasy objectification. He found himself attracted to everything about her. He felt a need to just be with her. "God help me." He thought. He could just imagine Jeff right now, telling him how he was whipped, and teasing him with whipping noises. Chris laughed quietly to himself. He didn't care. If being whipped meant being with Anne, every lash was worth it.

As they entered the office tower, the front foyer was huge. It was several stories high and the glass walls of the exterior made it look even bigger, letting in natural lighting. As they passed the front information desk, everyone inside either smiled at them or greeted Anne with a "Good Morning". Everyone here knew her, or at least knew who she was. Chris just nodded and smiled trying to keep up. He did notice a couple odd lingering stares. One or two people, he surmised, had obviously read the tabloids and made the connection.

When Anne had told him it was a tower, the word "tower" didn't really register. He didn't really make the mental connection in his head as to the size of the place. Somehow he'd pictured a much smaller building with a factory in the back and a dozen people sewing things. "How big is this place?" He stared with awe.

"The building is fifteen stories." Anne smiled back enjoying the stunned look on his face. "Manufacturing is on the lower levels, design and marketing in the middle and executive offices on the top. Fifteenth floor also has Elise's and my apartment suites." She pulled him into an elevator and hit the button for fifteen.

"How many people do you employ?" Chris was baffled. Until now, the size of Elan didn't really register until seeing it.

"We employ about three hundred people here, give or take, and a few more in our other locations around Europe." Anne smiled back, enjoying the look on Chris's face.

"All this," he waved around with his hand, "just from sitting around sketching models as a teenager when you were bored?" Chris smiled shaking his head in disbelief.

Anne stopped for a moment at the comment. "Funny how journeys begin, isn't it." She winked at him before continuing.

When they exited the elevator on the top floor they were greeted by the receptionist. She was a striking blond woman in her late forties that was impeccably dressed. The name Lene Holm was displayed on a small plaque on her desk. She spoke in Norwegian to them and Anne made quick introductions for Chris before leading him down the hall to her office.

"Our apartment suites are the other way." Anne explained, pointing back down the hall past the receptionist. "It's usually where we stay when we're in Oslo."

As they entered Anne's office, Chris saw it was actually a shared office for both Elise and her, as there were two desks facing each other, but as Anne explained, she didn't use it very often. Much of her work was done on another floor where she worked with the designers and marketing teams. She had another office with them, a few floors down.

Anne crossed the room, dropping her things on the desk and stood at the window staring out at the city. She let out a soft sigh. To her it felt like just getting here had taken almost all of her energy. She felt tired.

"Hey, princess." Chris spoke quietly. He'd noticed a change in her posture and presence. He put an arm around her as he joined her by the window to admire the view. "You okay?"

"Yeah. Sorry, but could you not call me that. Princess, I mean. It's just..." She looked downcast. "I'm sorry Chris. It all just seams so daunting."

Chris thought she looked as if she wanted to say something but she held back. He put a hand on her back and rubbed gently. "Sorry. I didn't mean to..."

"It's not you." Anne turned and hugged him. "Sorry, I...I'll explain later okay." She let go and stared out the window again. "I love the view here. It's the simple things like this that I'll miss if things don't work out."

Chris stared out the window. It really was a great view.

"Come on. Let's get busy." Anne turned to the desk.

"What exactly are we looking for?" Chris asked.

Anne paused and closed her eyes to clear her head. "Umm...Anything to confirm the conditions or terms of whatever deal Hans made. It should all be on file." Anne sat down at her desk and turned on her computer. "Could you open the second drawer of that filing cabinet." She pointed across the room.

Chris crossed the room to the filing cabinet and opened it. "What am I looking for?"

Anne ignored him for a second as she became lost in data on her computer. She began printing out page after page. Her fingers flashed across the keyboard at an impressive speed.

Chris stood watching her with amazement and fascination. He knew she must have some pretty good office skills to get where she was today, but had never seen her like this. Up till now, he'd only seen Anne on a personal side. Here in the office, it was like a switch went off and she turned all business and professional. He admired her.

"There you are." She mumbled quietly with satisfaction. Anne hit one more button and the printer spit out a few more pages. She looked up at Chris who was eyeing her with keen interest. "What?" She stared at him for a moment before reality caught up. "Oh, sorry," Anne shook her head, " I kind got lost there."

"Yeah, you kind of disappeared. Do you still need anything out of the cabinet?"

"No, probably not, but grab it anyway. There's a few folders of bank statements for our investments. Grab the the most recent few. We may not need them. I think I found what I needed." She grabbed the pile of paper in the printer and began sorting and reading.

Chris was feeling a little useless. He didn't really know his way around an office or the paperwork side of business. "Can I get you anything? Coffee, tea..."

"There's a kitchen and lounge down the hall on your left. I'd love some tea, thank you." She looked back down at her papers as Chris opened the door to leave. "Wait," Anne looked up. "Sorry, I don't mean to treat you like this, I..."

"It's alright," Chris smiled back. "In the wilderness, I might be King, but in the office, I'll happily bow to you and fetch refreshments." He teased. "I know I'm not much help here. I'm just happy to be here with you. Anything you need Anne, just ask. Okay?"

A smile overtook the concern on her face. "Thank you." She felt a warm glow inside herself at Chris's caring nature.

Chris headed down the hall and found the lunch room. On one side it was a full kitchen with a high table and bar type stools along it that all faced out the window to the same spectacular view that Anne's office held. The other side of the room had a couple sofas and chairs around a glass coffee table with magazines spread out on them. Chris put the tea kettle on and then turned to stare out the window for a while, searching out across the city to the ocean in the distance. He sat down on the stool and just watched everything going on below. People buzzed around like insects fifteen stories below. Cars and trucks whizzed to an fro. It really wasn't a whole lot different then studying wildlife in the outdoors, Chris thought to himself. From up here, even the hectic hustle and bustle of city life looked peaceful in its own way. There was a beauty to it that he appreciated. A harmony.

He was startled out of his mental wanderings when the tea kettle went off and began to whistle. Pulling the plug he made a cup of tea for Anne and set it aside on the table to steep before sitting back down to enjoy the view again.

His mind was lost somewhere between memories of the blue white glaciers of the Andes and the glacial blue eyes of the woman down the hall, when she spoke to him from behind.

"Hey."

"Oh, hey. Sorry, I guess I got distracted by the view. Your tea is ready though." Chris slid the cup over to her.

"Thanks." She sat down beside him with an armload of papers. "Are you any good with investments and finances?" She began spreading out a few papers.

"Not any better then the average person I suppose." He shrugged. "Why?"

"I'm a little confused about something." Anne handed him a few pages. "This is the most recent investment deal made here at Elan. I'm certain it's the deal Hans made that Elise is so worked up about."

"Okay. So how bad is it?" Chris inquired.

"That's just it. It's not. I don't understand. Here look." She pointed to the page. He's invested some money into some company that I'm unfamiliar with. But it's not a lot of money. If the company folds and we lose out, it's not going to bankrupt us. It'll hurt a little, but we'll recover. But the odd thing is here." She handed him another set of papers. "He took out a loan to cover the investment. The terms are a little harsh if we fail to pay it back on time, but we have the capital to cover it right now."

"Maybe Elise has that capital earmarked for something else. I've heard of companies taking out loans they don't need and then paying them back. It can be good for business relations between companies and sometimes it's more to help benefit the company loaning the capital."

"I thought you were a man of the wilderness. Where did you learn business?" Anne eyes him with a new interest.

"You tell me your secrets, I'll tell you mine." Chris looked smugly at her.

Anne smiled and kissed him. "Count on it."

"Who's the company he got the loan from?" Chris asked.

Anne looked annoyed. "ARI."

"Who's ARI?"

Anne's look of annoyance faded to one of surprise at his question. "ARI is a huge world market based in Oslo. It was started and is still owned by a multimillionaire, in his early thirties who, I have to admit, has done very well for himself in spite of his wild and aggressive reputation. They specialize in investments, markets and acquisitions, but they are also very diversified in various retail markets. One of them is sports clothing. The owner thinks he's a real outdoorsman." Anne rolled her eyes slightly. "So in a way they are competition. Elan is more into a mix of every day casual dress clothing to higher end dress wears, but our markets do cross

"Let's step back a minute. You said something about harsh terms?"

"Yeah, basically if we default on the loan, Elan's share stock becomes forfeit as collateral to cover the loan." Anne explained. "But even so, it doesn't amount to enough share value to have any controlling influence on us. And like I said, we have the capital to cover it. So I don't see what Elise is so stressed about." She looked up at Chris. "What am I missing?"

"Go back to the terms. What kind of timeframe are we talking about. When does Elan have to pay it back?"

"Thirty days." Anne replied.

"Thirty days from when? When's it due?"

Anne began digging through the papers again. "It should be here...but I don't see it."

"Here," Chris said sliding the mug over to her as she settled in to a stool at the table. "Sip your tea and let me read over everything." Chris buried himself in the paperwork, not speaking a word for over fifteen minutes. He finally sighed looking up, "I don't see it. The deal is just as you described. It's nothing to get excited or stressed about. It is odd that the term date isn't here though." He began sorting the papers neatly. "Anne, I don't know your sister very well but, could she have misread all this? She's been under a lot of stress from what you've told me. With the problems of Hans's infidelity, could she have made a mistake?"

"No. Absolutely not." Anne defended her sister. "This isn't that complicated of a deal. There's no way she'd misinterpret this. She too smart."

"Who's the company Hans invested in?" Chris asked.

"I don't know." Anne picked out a page and scrolled down it. "Here, Mahan Incorporated. I've never heard of it."

"Why don't you go do a little research on that, see what you can find out. I'll keep digging through this stuff."

"Okay." Anne stood, kissing Chris on the top of his head, she returned to her office to see if Google had anything helpful to say.

Chris buried himself back in the paperwork. He didn't know a lot about investments, let alone corporate ones, but most of this was just a lot of adding of numbers and cross checking details. You didn't need to understand the percentages and returns to understand the basics of the deal. He lost himself in paper for over an hour before his stomach began growling for lunch.

Chris gathered up the mess of documents and headed back to the office.

"Hey." Chris walked in to see Anne looking even more frustrated than when had last seen her. "Found anything?"

"No. I haven't a clue who Mahan Incorporated is. I can't find any record online. Why would he invest in something so obscure? It doesn't make sense."

"Maybe he got a hot tip from someone. Has he ever made reckless investments before?" Chris inquired.

"No. Not that I know of." Anne looked skeptical.

"Anne, I've got two suggestions. First, lets go for lunch. Second, I have a friend who's really good at this stuff. Would you mind letting her come have a look?"

"Lunch, yes. And as for your friend, no, I don't mind at all if she can figure this out."

"Let me give her a call on the way to lunch."

* * *

Elise banged the clumped up snow from her crampons with her ice axe before planting the axe firmly in the snowpack beside her and dropped her pack and gloves. Pulling her sunglasses off, she wiped the sweat from her forehead on her sleeve and stared at the blue sky and the surrounding mountains. The view from the summit was so exhilarating. It had been far too long since she had been here. She couldn't remember the last time she'd climbed up here. It had been many years. Pulling off her cap, she took out her ponytail and let her hair blow into the wind, cooling her. She closed her eyes and looked up, letting the sun shine on her face and listened to the sound of the wind whispering to her.

Elise took a deep breath of fresh mountain air before opening her eyes and squatting down. She retrieved her lunch from her pack and sat down to nibble on a sandwich. She stared down into the valley hundreds of meters below her as she chewed. With her eyes she traced a small creek that was fed from the glacier and lead through the open moraine, through the trees and past a couple small clearings to where the cabin could just barely be seen. If you didn't know it was there, you'd never see it.

Elise remembered the first time she'd seen the cabin from up here. She had climbed up here with her father on the day of her ninth birthday. The family had come up to the cabin to celebrate and her father, as promised, guided her to the summit. She had begged him for over a year to bring her here. She was so excited when she finally got to go. When he pointed out the cabin down below, she couldn't believe how tiny it looked. She remembered seeing her sister and her mother as little specs in the clearing adjacent to the cabin and waving wildly at them hoping they could see her. As they turned to leave and head down, Elise made her father promise to bring her back next year. But next year never came. He was killed the following winter. It was almost ten years before she was able to return here.

Elise wiped a tear from her eye. She smiled through a couple more trickling tears at the memory. It always hurt thinking of what happened to her parents, and coming to the cabin always brought the memories back, but somehow, being up here it wasn't so bad. Everything was better up here. She felt stronger, more alive. The freedom here felt so good. She never wanted to leave the peak. But she knew if she wanted to be back before sundown she needed to leave soon or she'd be spending the night in the snow.

Elise finished her sandwich and enjoyed a long drink of cool water before putting her bottle away. She pulled her hair back into a ponytail, put on her cap, sunglasses, backpack and mitts and retrieved her axe from the snow. Before setting out she began to dig in the snow with her axe. It would be less than a meter she knew. She had dug down only half a meter when she hit rock. Clearing a small hole in the snow, Elise reached in and pulled out a small stone. A summit stone. She smiled to herself and put it in her pocket. When she got down she'd put it in the jar on the mantle with the other six she'd collected. Right next to her fathers jar of stones.

Elise took one last look at the view, soaking in as much as she could, and then started her decent. She had only taken a few steps, however, when the cawing of a raven caught her attention down below. She stepped closer to the cliff edge. It was over a three hundred meter drop to the moraine. The raven soared below her, caught in a thermal, circling around and around, gaining altitude. She could almost sense the freedom of being able to fly like a bird. It was invigorating. The urge to leap free of the world and soar came to her like an overwhelming surge. She wanted to be that bird. She wanted that freedom. She wanted to fly.

Elise stepped closer to the edge, closed her eyes and stretched out her arms...


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12. Deceit and misunderstanding.**

Kaitlyn sat at the desk in Anne's office while Anne and Chris looked on from across the room. Her eyes were scanning faster and faster through page after page. When she got to the end, she paused looking a little confused and then went back and read through everything a second time. She was like a machine the way she sifted through everything, speed reading, processing and analyzing data.

In a matter of minutes she had gone through everything that took Ann and Chris almost an hour to read through. It was impressive.

"Well?" Chris asked. "What have we missed?"

Kaitlyn looked at both of them. "From what I see here...nothing. It's exactly as you described. But the missing start date? That is odd. To have such a critical omission and have it missed by both you and ARI? Either it was intended or someone really screwed up. It's easy enough to find out though."

"How?" Anne seemed confused for a second and then laughed at herself stupidity as Kaitlyn picked up the phone and pointed to the phone number on the top of the transaction document.

"Would you like to, or do you want me to do the honours?" Kaitlyn asked.

Anne gestured to her with an open hand, letting her continue.

Kaitlyn flipped the phone onto speaker so they all could hear the conversation as she dialled. It rang several times before being answered.

"Hello, ARI investments? How can I help you?" A cheerful voice answered.

"Yes, hi, my name is Ms. Kaitlyn Dazen and I'm calling from Elan Enterprises regarding our last investment loan and I have few questions I would like to have answered."

"Certainly Ms. Dazen. Can I have the transaction file number and the date of the transaction please."

Kaitlyn read the numbers off the page to her.

"Thank you. It'll just be one minute while I pull up the file." On the other end of the line, they could hear fingers typing on a keyboard. "Ah, yes here it is. What can I help you with?"

"Well, first off can you clarify the terms of the deal. The page I'm looking at states thirty days from the agreed upon date, but no date is listed."

There was a pause on the other end of the line and they could hear the woman typing on her computer. "You're absolutely right. That's very odd. We can't have an end date without a beginning, can we." There was another pause. "My apologies. That will have to be corrected. What I'm going to do for you is pass this off to my supervisor and he will reassess the investment. I don't have the authority to make any kind of changes or corrections myself but I can get my supervisor to get that mistake corrected for you. If the error is on our behalf, the start date of the terms will likely be today or the date in which it is corrected, but you will be notified and we will currier you a copy of the revised statement immediately. Is there anything else I can do for you?" She asked cheerfully.

"Yeah, could you tell me who signed the deal from Elan?" Kaitlyn asked.

"I believe it was one of the Brekke sisters. I'll look It up for you, but can you not ask them?" She inquired somewhat suspiciously.

"I've already asked Ms. Anne and she was unaware of the deal." Kaitlyn replied.

"Well then it must have been Ms. Elise Brekke." The woman replied. There was another pause before she spoke again. "Ah, yes here it is. Signed by Elise Brekke." She paused again. "Is there anything else?"

"No that'll be all. Thank you." Kaitlyn clicked the receiver and hung up. She looked around at Chris and Anne. "Well?"

"No way. There's no way Elise made that deal." Anne stated.

"Why?" Kaitlyn looked back and forth between Chris and Anne. "Forgive me I don't know your sister."

"I took a few business course in university, and I'll admit they weren't my favourite, but it gave me the knowledge and understanding to pick out that error of the term date within minutes of reading it. Elise has her degree in business. She thrives on this kind of stuff. There's no way she'd miss something so basic like that." Anne stammered.

"Well, that leaves us with two options." Kaitlyn replied. "Either she was aware of it and didn't care, or she didn't know. If she didn't know, that means she likely didn't make the deal, in which case our cheerful little friend in the investment department was lying to us about who did make it."

"Why would Elise not care?" Anne looked concerned. "There's nothing to be legitimately gained or lost by not correcting it immediately. And why would the woman on the phone lie?"

"If she lied, that's criminal, isn't it?" Chris looked to Kaitlyn.

"Yes it is. If you can prove it." Kaitlyn replied.

Anne walked over to the computer. Kaitlyn got up and gave her the chair. Anne sat and began typing. She pulled up the phone transactions and security log and hit save. "There. Your conversation with her is saved. Too bad you didn't get her name."

"Damn. I was going to ask her but I got distracted. I thought it was odd she didn't introduce herself though." Kaitlyn shook her head. "Sorry."

Both Chris and Anne nodded in agreement.

"Listen Anne," Kaitlyn started. "Something is off about this. Save everything you can find on this. If ARI is trying to pull a fast one, you'll need all the proof you can find. But it doesn't make sense. It would be out of character for a company like that to do something like this."

"What do you mean?" Anne got up from the desk and crossed over to be with Chris.

"Well, you know ARI has a pretty good reputation and they make a LOT of money." Kaitlyn explained. "They're huge. You know that. For the company to try and pull a dirty trick and lie about a small deal like this, small relative to them," Kaitlyn clarified, "would be like you walking into a store with ten million dollars in your pocket and risk getting arrested for stealing a fifty dollar pair of blue jeans. ARI didn't get to be where they are by taking stupid risks that no one in their right mind would do. The shareholders would have something to say about it and ARI stocks would plummet. Something here doesn't add up. You need to talk to Elise. If you and Elise are the only ones with signing authority to make investment deals than you need to sit down and talk. You may have a security breach."

"I know." Anne sighed looking concerned. "I tried calling her earlier but couldn't get the through. She hasn't called back and I don't know where she is. I called the Arendal office earlier too and no one there has seen her today either." Anne shook her head and mumbled to herself. "I hope she's alright." There was a moment of silence before Anne spoke again. "Thank you for your help Kaitlyn. I really appreciate it."

"No problem. And thank you again for lunch. I'm just sorry I couldn't be more helpful in sorting this out. Let me know how it turns out. You got me curious." She gathered her coat and headed for the door.

"Do you want us to walk you out?" Anne asked.

"No. I'll be fine. Thank you." Kaitlyn replied.

"Let me at least call you a cab." Anne offered.

"Thank you. Later Chris." Kaitlyn waved as she walked out, down the hall to the elevators.

Anne picked up the phone and called the front lobby to get a cab ordered. When she hung up, she just stood in silence.

After a few minutes, Chris spoke up. "Talk to me Anne. What aren't you telling me?"

"Elise and I are not the only ones with company signing authority to make deals like this."

Chris turned to her. "Hans?"

"Hans." She confirmed. She walked back around her desk and and sat down.

"Where is Hans?" Chris asked. "If he works here, shouldn't he be here?"

"Yeah, he should be here." Anne picked up the phone and called the receptionist who confined that Hans had just arrived a few minutes ago. She had been dreading this. Confrontation was not her thing. But with Elise missing, it fell to her to deal with it. Her concerns must have made it to her face because Chris came over and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, you're not alone here. I'll go with you to talk to him if you want."

"Thanks. I think I just need a few minutes to clear my head and figure out a game strategy first." She rubbed her forehead with both hands.

Chris moved in and went to work on her shoulders messaging them.

Anne thought she was going to melt, it felt so good. She let her eyes slowly close to enjoy it without distraction. She was almost asleep after several minutes when she was jolted back to reality by a knock at the door.

Anne straightened herself up as Chris stepped back. "Come in. She called.

The door opened and a tall man in an expensive suit stepped in. He was a handsome man, and a little older than Anne. Chris recognized him from the tabloids.

"Anne, my apologies for interrupting you, I was wondering if I could have a word. There's something I'm concerned about that I think we need to sort out." Hans looked back and forth between Anne and Chris.

Anne tried very hard not to let the surprise show on her face at seeing him. Hans looked calm and cool as ever but she did pick up on the glances to Chris. "Hans, this is my friend Chris. He's been helping me with some finances." Anne stumbled. She wasn't ready for this. She didn't know how much he knew about Chris, or if she should have let him know Chris was helping.

Hans stepped forward with a hand outstretched and a perfect winning smile on his face. "A pleasure I'm sure."

Chris thought it was too perfect. Too practiced. He smiled back anyway and shook hands. "Thank you."

Hans looked a little hesitant at first. He obviously wasn't expecting anyone to be in the office with Anne.

"It's alright, Hans, you can speak freely in front of Chris." Anne added.

"Yes, of course." Hans cleared his throat before sitting across from Anne in an empty chair. "About a week ago I came across an investment that your sister made that concerns me. It doesn't appear to be a large investment but it doesn't seem like a very good one. She's invested in some company I've never heard of called Mahan Incorporated. In addition to that, she borrowed capital from a competitor to front the investment and took on some unusual terms." He furrowed his brow looking deeply concerned. "Anne, I'm concerned not only for the financial success of Elan, but also for Elise. You know I care about her. She's been acting really odd since you went away. She seemed quite stressed about something and wouldn't talk to me about it. Have you seen her? Do you know where she is?"

"No. I haven't see her today." Anne answered honestly. She considered telling him about seeing Elsie last night but had no intention of telling him about the fight they'd had. In fact she was a little confused. All this time she had been assuming Hans was the culprit here, but the way he spoke, he seemed very genuine. "And I was just looking into the deal your talking about." She added.

"So you're aware of then shares collateral if we default on payment? That underhanded CEO of ARI will own a sizeable chunk of our company and we will likely never get it back." He shook his head in disgust.

"So you had nothing to do with this?" Anne asked as professionally courteous as possible.

"No, I only discovered it by accident last week when I was reviewing some bank statements for another investment. It's bothered me so much that I'm afraid I've done some unpleasant things to try to discreetly sort this out, but I fear it may have caused some damage in our relationship."

"What sort of things?" Anne inquired delicately.

"Well," Hans shifted his weight looking uncomfortable. "You know that before I met your sister, I was involved with Madeline Hauge." He glanced up at both Chris and Anne. "She still works at ARI. I called her up last week and sort of played along that I was interested in her again, in hopes of maybe getting a little inside info about what was going on." He looked a little awkward at his admission. "I was concerned about Elise and didn't want to upset her so I didn't tell her what I was doing. I'm worried she may have seen us and got the wrong impression." Hans sighed apologetically. "I'm sorry Anne. I might be partly responsible for her running off. Are you sure you haven't seen her? I really need to talk to her to straighten this all out. I checked her suite here and there's no sign she's been there."

"I'm sorry Hans. I don't know where she is." Anne answered immediately. She couldn't tell if Hans was telling the truth or not. It bothered her that she might have been so wrong about him. Elise had been very stressed lately and acting a little out of character. And if Hans was using Madeline to get information, it was easy to see how that could be misinterpreted that he was cheating on Elise.

"I don't know what to do Anne."

"Did Madeline tell you anything?" Anne asked.

"No. She was, aloof and dismissive when I asked. I don't think she figured out what I was trying to do but she didn't seem to be in the mood to reveal anything either." Hans shook his head. "I took her out for lunch the other day...and I think someone took our picture." He looked apologetic.

"They did take your picture. It was in the tabloids yesterday." Anne added to see what he'd do.

"It what? Shit!" He hung his head rubbing his forehead. "If Elise saw that... Dammit! Anne, I really need to talk to her and straighten this out. Where could she have gone? She hasn't been answering my calls."

Chris watched all this with skepticism at first. This didn't seem like the man Anne had been describing up till now. At first glance he was exactly like Anne had said. "Superficial" came to mind. He was tall, handsome and muscular. His suit was impeccable, his hair was perfect as was his winning smile and perfectly white teeth. But his explanation and sincerity threw Chris off. He seemed genuinely upset and concerned for Elise. Chris found he couldn't help but like this man and feel sorry for him. He wanted to help. If he was telling the truth, the tabloids were messing things up for them all. Looking to Anne, he could read the same thoughts in her eyes too.

Anne finally relented. "The only place I can think of might be the old cabin. I haven't been there in years though. Elise liked to go there to unwind once in a while. She might be there. But there no cell reception so you can't call her. And the only way in is a week long hike or a helicopter."

"I gotta do something. I can't just sit here." Hans stammered. "Maybe Madeline does knows something. If I was a little more persuasive I suppose I might be able to get her to talk. Maybe reveal something of what's going on at ARI." Hans got up from his chair. "Thanks for your help Anne. And for listening. Keep in touch. If you hear from her, please let me know." He turned and left the office, nodding to Chris as he went by.

Anne and Chris both sat in silence for a couple minutes, both processing what just happened.

"Do you think he's telling the truth?" Chris finally asked.

"Before he came in, I was ready to cut him down and expose every lie he told." She shook her head. "But now... I don't know what to believe. What if he's right? What if Elise is having some kind of breakdown. What if she's the one who messed up this deal? Everything he said is completely plausible."

"Either he's telling the truth or he's a damn good actor." Chris added.

"I wish Elise would call. I need her."

"Could she be in her suite? Maybe she sleeping." Chris offered.

"It's just down the hall, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to check. It doesn't seem likely. Hans said he already checked."

Anne got up and lead Chris down the hall, past the receptionist to the opposite end of the building. There were two doors facing each other. "That ones mine." She pointed to one of the doors. "And this ones Elise's." She pulled a key from her pocket and unlocked the door.

Chris was impressed with the suite as they entered. It was spacious and very nicely furnished. It occupied the entire corner of the building and as such had a view to match. Windows lined two walls making the view of the city spectacular.

"Hello, Elise? Are you here?" Anne called out. No one answered. She crossed the living room and headed down the hall to the bed room. "Elise?" She knocked on the door before entering. When she flipped on the lights she saw the room was empty. The bed was made and no one had been here. It looked like the maids had been here and cleaned up. If they had kept to their usual schedule, they would have cleaned a couple days ago which meant Elise hadn't been here for a few days. She flipped out the light and returned to Chris.

She found him in the kitchen reading something very intently.

"Doesn't look like she's been here. Let's go. I'm tired." Anne stated, but Chris didn't answer. "Chris? What's wrong?"

He looked up with a stunned look on his face and handed her the paper. "I found this on the counter under some mail."

Anne looked at it quickly. "It's just another copy of that investment."

"Read it again." Chris almost demanded.

Anne scanned it again more carefully. This time she picked up on three significant differences on this copy. The money borrowed and invested from ARI and Mahan was a sum significantly larger. It was larger than any transaction they had ever done. It was worth over half of Elan's entire equity. It was staggering. She couldn't believe Elise would risk so much. She couldn't believe Elise would have done this without talking to her first. As her eyes scanned down she saw the second difference. "Repayment of loan due within thirty days." And this time there was a start date and a due date. It was due today.

"Oh my god Chris! It's due today!" She looked at her watch. "It's due in less than twenty minutes. There's no way...there's no way I could arrange a payment transaction in time even if I could find the funds." Anne was shaking when she sunk down into a kitchen chair. That's when she saw the third difference. The collateral shares ARI would be given in compensation wasn't ten percent. It was sixty three. That would effectively give ARI control and essentially ownership of Elan Enterprises.

"Oh my god Elise! What have you done?" Anne whispered. Tears formed in her eyes as she covered her mouth in shock. Everything they'd worked for for the last ten years was gone. They were no longer in control of their own company. Their future was in the hands of some corporate entity. Anne felt sick as the reality of it sunk in. "Why? Why would she have done this? It doesn't make sense." She cried.

"What doesn't make sense is the other statement we saw. Was it falsified? Was she trying to cover it up? I don't get it. Was she planning on lying to you about it?" Chris was dumbfounded by this. He really didn't know Elise that well. He'd only just met her, but he felt he sort of knew her through Anne and this didn't seem like the actions of the woman Anne had told him about. Something was still off about all this, but the reality that Anne just lost her company was mind boggling and he too had trouble coming to terms with it. He couldn't begin to imagine what Anne was experiencing right now.

Chris knelt down beside Anne and pulled her into a hug. "I'm so sorry Anne. We'll figure this out. I don't know if there's anything we can do, but if there is, I'll help you any way that I can."

Anne sobbed on his shoulder. "I know. Thank you."


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13. Hideaway.**

Elise was barely conscious as the morning sun hit her face like a cruel slap. There was a beating in her head that wouldn't go away. She felt like she'd been hit by a truck. Her whole body hurt. If she ever walked again it would be a miracle she thought. But the incessant beating wouldn't go away. Instead it got louder and louder. It sounded like a helicopter.

She peeled her face off the couch, groaning in agony, and looked around the cabin before sitting up. Every muscle in her body hurt. It was stupid of her to go for such a long hard climb yesterday without spending at least a couple days working up to it. She hadn't exercised that hard in years. Today and likely the next several days she was going to pay for it.

She could hear the helicopter landing outside and the engine winding down. She sighed to herself. Anne must have figured out where she was. She resigned herself to face it. To face her sister and start sorting this mess out.

Still in her cloths from yesterday, Elise stood up feeling sore and very stiff. She pulled her messy blond hair back and tucked it under a ball cap and slowly headed for the door.

When the door opened she nearly fell over in surprise. "What the hell are you doing here Hans, and how did you find me?" She pushed past him into the open.

"I came to talk to you Elise. It's important. Very important." Hans pleaded.

"Oh, it's important is it?" Elise mocked. "Is it as important as Madeline?" She accused.

"You don't understand Elsie. It's not what it seems. Nothing is what it seems. My god, you have no idea what's happened do you?" Hans looked scared.

"Why? What's happened?" She demanded.

"Well, you know about that deal right?"

"Yeah. I've seen the real paper work and your cover up. Did you think I'm stupid?" She spit at him.

"It wasn't me Elsie. I didn't do it." He pleaded.

"Oh, and I suppose you didn't do Madeline either." She sneered.

"Elise listen to me. Yes I saw Madeline. But it's not what you think. Something strange was going on with that deal and it was connected to ARI. Madeline still works there in the investment department so I thought if I could convince her I was still interested in her and wanted to rekindle things, I could get some inside information out of her to find out what's going on. I'm not back with Madeline. She and I were finished a long time ago. You gotta believe me. I wanted to tell you before hand but you just seemed so stressed and worn out and I didn't want to burden you with it. But then those stupid tabloids caught us out for lunch."

"If you didn't make this deal, and I didn't make it, what? Are you going to try to tell me Anne contrived all this to ruin us?"

"No, not to ruin you. But maybe to take some of the load and stress off you both. I can't prove it yet. She's told me on several occasions how this company has come between you two, how it's become a rift that's kept you apart. She's told me how much she misses you and would gladly give it all up to have you back, to be as close as you used to be. I suspect the idea came out of some misguided thought that it was in the best interest of both of you. I don't think she really knew what she was doing. I don't think she intended to ruin the company. That was someone else's plan."

"Anders Harlson." Elise spat out.

"Anders Harlson." Hans confirmed. "President, owner and CEO of ARI." He paused. "What do you know about this boyfriend of Anne's? Chris."

"Why? Do you think he's involved?"

"Look at the big picture. He suddenly shows up just as everything starts to fall apart. A little too coincidental. My guess is he's had some hand in convincing Anne that this was a good thing to do. There's no way Anne could have done all this alone and she never would have done what they're accusing her of." Hans shook his head. "Anne's too soft and kind hearted."

"You think Chris is working for Harlson?"

"It looks that way." Hans replied.

"Wait, go back. What do you mean Anne's too kind hearted? Too kind hearted to do what? What are you talking about?" Elise looked confused.

"The altered document. You know, the one that looks like the deal wasn't as bad as we thought. Someone broke into ARI and tried to delete the original and replace it with the altered one. Anne would never do that, but this Chris? What do we really know about him. Nothing, except that several years back ARI funded some research for the company Chris works for. Guess who Harlson spent his time with while on that job?" Hans raised an eyebrow at her. "So Chris just shows up and suddenly he's her boyfriend and Harson controls Elan? When I got in to the office yesterday, he was there with Anne snooping through our files. He has no legitimate business looking through our files. He's supposed to be a research scientist. I had to tell a few convincing lies to them so as not to let on what I knew. I'm pretty sure they were telling me a few lies as well and I can prove it. Anyways, Madeline called me last night to warn me. They discovered the false documents. She keeps a backup of everything and so had a copy of the original. They called the police. Your name and Anne's are all over both documents Elise. They're looking for you."

"But I had nothing to do with it! Besides, if Chris was working for Anders, why would he have to go through all this breaking in and destroying files? Couldn't Anders do that and have avoided being investigated by police?" Elise's mind was working overtime trying to sort this out.

"I don't know Elise. Maybe for the appearance of authenticity in case police got involved, maybe so Anders could distance himself. But when you look at it, it's all a set up. They knew Anne had a softness in her heart for you and they exploited that to get her to make this deal that you would ultimately default on and Bingo! ARI owns Elan Enterprises."

Elise was looking angry. She couldn't believe this was happening. "So when do we default. How much time do we have?"

"None."

"What do you mean none?" The document I saw last week said thirty days. According to the date I saw we should still have a couple days to repay the loan and satisfy the terms."

"I'm sorry Elise, but it seems like everything we've seen was falsified in some way to ensure this would happen. Time ran out this morning. That's why I don't believe Anne could have done all this. It's not who she is. She's just a sweet girl who loves her sister. There's no way she would have committed a felony to falsify documents or break into ARI."

"Shit! Elan is gone isn't it?" Elise was stunned. "I came here because I thought I still had time. There's nothing we can do about it. Oh my god! They stole my company. What are we going to do. I need to talk to Anne now. I gotta get her out. She needs me." Elise was almost rambling in panic as started for the helicopter.

"Elise wait." Hans followed her. "They're looking for you both." He stepped in front of Elise, blocking her and took her by the hand. "The police. If they find you, they'll detain you indefinitely or worse, and you'll be no help to any of us. Let me go back. I'll find her. I'll find Anne and bring her here to you. That'll also give me time to get our lawyers involved to protect you. We can file counter suits, we can file injunctions, but if you get caught first, you'll be operating from a prison cell until we can get you out. Please, I know it's hard, but wait here for her. Wait here for me." He brought her hand up and gently kissed it.

Elise looked up into his eyes, resigned to her fate and sighed. "Thank you Hans." She hugged him tight before turning away and headed for the cabin. In less than a few minutes the helicopter was gone and Elise was alone again.

Before heading in she glanced up at the mountain she had climbed yesterday and remembered the raven. She had lost everything to that evil bastard Harlson. And she might even go to jail for it. For half a second she wished she had jumped.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14 Turn around.**

Anne groaned as she rolled over and sat up in bed. She brushed a mop of hair out of her face with her hand and tried to look around remembering where she was. She was still tired and groggy. It had been a late night and a rough fitful sleep. Memories of events of the last couples days began to sift back in and cast a heavy weight in her heart. She had cried last night. A lot. She wondered what Chris thought of her. It seemed like she was crying far too much lately. It wasn't like her to be so emotional. She didn't want him to think she was this weepy basket case all the time. Things had just been difficult lately and her emotions ran close to the surface.

She looked down at herself and realized she had no memory of putting on her flannel pyjamas. She had no memory of even going to bed last night. She did faintly remember having a glass of wine, or two, or five. She looked at the clock and swore. She'd slept in. It was almost ten in the morning.

Anne stood up noting that there was no sign of Chris in her room. She wondered where he slept or if he was still here. She stepped out into the living room of the suite and saw a blanket and pillow on the couch. "Always the gentlemen", she thought. That's when the smell hit her. Bacon. A small smile crept across her tired face as she brushed her hair back with her hand. But there was another smell too. One partly masked by the bacon but just as enticing.

Feeling a chill, she snagged the blanket from the couch, wrapped it around herself and followed the smell to the kitchen. Her smile grew bigger when she saw the table was set and Chris was pulling out fresh baked bread from the oven.

Anne dropped the blanket jumping up and down with excitement, clapping her hands and grinning ear to ear.

Chris smiled casually back at her. She looked so cute with her messy hair and pyjamas. He set the bread out to cool and was just pulling off the oven mitts when Anne ran into his arms. She squeezed him tight and let her body melt into his. That feeling hit her again, a feeling of being protected, feeling safe and feeling loved.

"Good morning." He whispered to her.

"Good morning." Anne smiled to herself. Her eyes closed as she held him. A surge of emotion welled up in her threatening tears again, but she held on tight to let it pass. She breathed deeply in satisfaction before a yawn took hold of her. "I'm really beginning to like waking up with you." She eyed the food greedily.

Anne let go and gave him a quick peck on the lips before sitting down at the table. She waited for Chris to join her before dishing up scrambled eggs, bacon, yogurt, hash browns and fresh bread, but her eyes fell to a small bowl beside her. She eyed Chris with a smirk. "How...?"

Chris grinned back. "I'd like to claim intuition or attention to detail, but..."

"You asked Lene didn't you." Anne cut him off.

"Yeah. I walked out into the hall this morning and asked her what you liked for breakfast." Chris looked sheepishly at her.

Anne couldn't help beaming at him. "And what do you think?"

"You and I have a lot in common Anne, but I can safely say that pickled herring on toast for breakfast is NOT one of them." He chuckled.

Anne laughed at him but continued smiling as she dug in to her food. "It's a Scandinavian thing."

Chris waited until they were halfway into breakfast before bringing up the issues at hand. "So, what's our plan today?"

"I honestly don't know. If we've lost control of the company, representatives from ARI will want to meet to discuss their plans for the future. I'll need to get in touch with our legal team to discuss things I guess." She put a hand out for Chris and he took it without hesitation. "I'm still at a loss as to how this happened. Maybe the lawyers can figure something out. Maybe that should be out first plan of action."

Chris left it at that and they both went back to eating.

After finishing breakfast, Anne showered and got dressed. She was dreading the day ahead. The fact that ARI would likely be contacting them to set up meetings to discuss the future of Elan was a depressing thought. Anne thought she could handle most of it, but they would need Elise to finalize everything. She was the CEO after all. The first meetings would only be preliminary introductions anyway to establish communication and speaking terms.

Anne's thoughts drifted back to her sister. She wondered where Elise had gone. It wasn't like her to disappear like that. A sense of fear took hold of her, wondering if something had happened to her. It was so out of character. Elise didn't run. She faced everything head on. She also felt a sense of guilt that her comments regarding Hans were what set Elise off in the first place. But she had quickly realized that there was a lot more going on that she was not responsible for. Her comment was just the trigger, but it still hurt.

Back in the living room, she straightened Chris's tie just a little before kissing him and heading for the door. She was dressed in another business suit and skirt and had braided her hair back up similar to how it was when they first met. It was a look that made her look very professional.

Anne was startled as she reached for the front door knob to exit the apartment when someone knocked form the outside. She looked back to Chris who just shrugged.

Anne opened the door and was surprised again to find Hans standing there looking nervous. "Hans, what are you doing here?"

"Thank god I found you." He gasped stepping in and shutting the door behind him.

"Why what's going on?"

"It Elise. The police have her. She's been arrested."

"What?" Anne was shocked. Wha...how? Why?"

"There was a falsified document regarding the investment. The real document..."

"Yeah, we know about that." Anne cut him off. "ARI owns us now."

"Well, anyway, they said she's the one behind it all, trying to fraud both Elan and ARI. They're talking about charges, everything from embezzlement to insider trading. I don't believe it for a second though. Something else is going on here. Elise would never do that. I came here as quick as I could. I've spent most of the morning with our lawyers trying to see what we can do to get her released." Hans sighed rubbing his forehead. "How did it get this far? I don't understand."

"Where is she now?" Chris asked.

"Police station. They're holding her there until they can process her. I suppose a judge will be in at some point to set bail, but that could take a few days." He responded.

"Where was she? Where did they find her?" Anne felt sick to her stomach. Her sister was in jail! Her own sister! She couldn't believe it.

"I'm not exactly sure where they found her. I just found out an hour ago and I've been with the lawyers ever since. Anne, you need to leave for a while." He stared at her with deep concern and fear in his eyes.

"What? Why?"

"The police are looking for you too. They think you might be an accomplice. I don't think they have a warrant, but they'll still bring you in and detain you for an indefinite time."

"That's ridiculous. I had nothing to with it. I'm not going to run like a criminal." Anne stammered.

"You're not running Anne, the legal team just wants you to make yourself scarce for a day until they can deal with the police. If the police take you in, you'll be no help to Elise or to Elan and it will be harder to get you both out. If we can give the lawyers a little time, they'll put a stop to this nonsense and then we can focus on Elise right away and minimize the damage. Do you understand?" Hans was sweating and wiped his forehead again.

"I don't like it." Anne stated.

"Well that's two of us." Hans agreed. "I really don't like any of it, but the lawyers pushed me to tell you to get out before the police come. They said the team would be in contact later this afternoon if all goes well. I'm sorry Anne. You both deserve better but it's the best I could do on such short notice."

"Alright." Anne agreed looking subdued. "Where are we going to go?" She looked at Chris.

"Your house?" Chris inquired. "Or how about that cabin you spoke of?"

"No." Hans cut in. "The house is too obvious and I think the cabin is where they found Elise. They may have left someone there in case you showed up. But I do have the helicopter ready. I called this morning when I first heard and had them bring it. It's parked on the roof, fuelled and ready to go. Just go. Get out of the city for today. I'll head back and talk to the legal team. By tomorrow you should be okay, in a few days we should have Elise back and then we can focus on getting control of Elan back."

"Thank you Hans." Anne reached out a hand.

Hans took it and kissed it. "Thank you Anne. You and Elise have done so much for me. I only hope I can repay you." He looked over to Chris and shook his hand. "Take care of her Chris. I'll see you both soon." Hans opened the door and disappeared.

Anne paced across the room and back. "Where are we going to go?" She looked to Chris. "You should stay. They're not looking for you. There's no need for you to be involved." Anne's heart felt like it was sinking deeper and deeper. She willed herself to hold it together. She couldn't break down now. But breaking down felt like it was the only thing she could do.

"No." Chris stated softly. It wasn't a demand or a defiant argument. It was a simple loving 'No'. "Do you think I could actually abandon you when you and Elise need all the help you can get right now?"

"No." Anne sighed. "Of course I don't. I'm sorry." She walked back to Chris and gave him a hug. "I want to grab some cloths first before we go. Okay?" She left Chris and went to her room to pack a small travel bag before returning. Chris did the same.

She stopped at the living room window and looked down to the street. As she looked down she saw a couple police cars parked in front in front and a moment of panic set in. "They're here. We need to leave now."

Anne walked across the room taking Chris's hand and opened the door. She couldn't believe this was happening. They hurried down the hall to the elevator and stepped in. Anne took him the to the rooftop where the helicopter sat waiting.

The pilot was out walking around, making sure everything was ready when he looked up and smiled. "Good morning Ms. Brekke. Beautiful day for flying isn't it. Then again any day I can fly is a beautiful one." He chuckled to himself. "Where would you like to go?"

"Up." Anne chuckled trying to sound casual. "Let's just get in the air first. Then we'll decide."

"Sure thing. Hop in and buckle up. I'll have us going in few minutes." He nodded.

"Thanks Jan." Anne opened the passenger door for Chris and he began to climb in.

"You know," Jan spoke up again making small talk, "I thought on a sunny day like today you would have joined your sister in the great outdoors."

"What was that?" Anne spun around looking at him.

"Your sister." Jan repeated. "I thought you would have joined her at the cabin. It was gorgeous out there this morning when Mr. Isaksen and I stopped by. I was hoping he would have stayed a while so I could have enjoyed some of that beautiful fresh mountain air. But unfortunately he said he had lots of things to do."

Anne looked stunned again. "You mean Elise is still out at the cabin?"

"Well yeah. We flew straight here after. Only arrived back here at the Ice Palace about thirty minutes ago." Jan added. Anne thought about this. She hadn't heard the helicopter arrive. She must have been in the shower.

Anne looked up at Chris. "He lied! Hans was lying! Come on." Anne turned to head back into the building. Chris followed.

"Are we still going flying?" The pilot called.

"Later." Anne returned as she headed for the stairs. The elevator was too slow. She hurried down as fast as she could in heels without slipping. She nearly fell twice.

Anne came back out on the fifteenth floor next to the elevators they had just entered and headed down the hall toward the reception desk where Lene was talking to a couple police officers.

"Ah, Ms. Brekke. The officers here are looking for Mr. Isaksen. He was just here wasn't he?"

"Yes. He left about ten minutes ago." Anne replied looking confused.

"You have a helipad on the roof, do you not?" The second officer asked.

"Yes. You're welcome to check, but we just came from there. He's not up there." Anne replied. "Why do you want him?"

The second officer radioed in something before leaving to head out to the roof where Anne and Chris had just come from.

"A warrant has been sworn out for his arrest." The first officer replied.

"His arrest?" Chris spoke up from behind. "Why? What did he do?"

"Theft, embezzlement, fraud, conspiracy to commit fraud...and a few others." The officer listed them off.

Anne's mind was spinning, trying to sort out what was truth or lies. She hesitantly asked, "Was he acting alone?"

"No. He had a conspirator working on the inside. A woman."

Anne felt sick again fearing her sisters involvement. "What was her name?" She asked hesitantly.

He checked his notepad. The few seconds wait was killing Anne until he spoke. "Miss. Madeline Hauge. Do you know her?"

"Only by reputation, officer." Anne replied quickly. The load off her shoulders was huge. The relief that Elise was not involved was almost overwhelming as was the realization that Elise was not in jail. It surprised even Anne. It must have shown because the officer looked at her strangely.

"Is there something you wish to add?" The officer questioned her.

"Yes." Anne replied. "We were led to believe, by Mr. Isaksen, that he was innocent and that my sister was involved. In fact we were led to believe quite a few things that seem to have been lies. I am relieved to know the truth and in light of these events I believe we will be able to provide you with more evidence against him that may lead to further charges."

"If I may," Chris cut in. "Who's pressing the charges?"

The officer checked his notes again before replying. "Anders Harlson."

Chris's jaw dropped. "What does Harlson have to do with it?"

Anne turned to Chris and looked at him strangely. "Excuse me? Where have you been for the last three days? Having a memory lapse?" She teased.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Anders Harlson?" Anne taunted. "Owner and CEO of the the company we've been talking about. ARI?"

The light clicked on suddenly in Chris's head. "ARI is Anders Research Incorporated and I'm a total idiot." He slapped his forehead.

Anne smiled at him before turning back to the officer. "Thank you for your time officer. We'll be in contact if you'd care to leave a card or your number."

"Your welcome." The officer handed Anne his card. "Please call us if you see Mr. Isaksen or if you have anything else to add. Thank you." The officer turned and left.

Anne and Chris both breathed a huge sigh of relief. She looked at him with an odd smirk. "What was that about? Haven't you ever heard of Anders Harlson?"

"Yes." Chris chuckled. "It's the company name I never put together. I knew he was owner of Anders Research Incorporated but I'd never heard it referred to as ARI. Stupidly on my part, I just didn't put the two together." He remembered hearing something about the company rebranding themselves a year ago but hadn't paid much attention. He had never heard the name ARI until yesterday.

Anne smiled again, but the fact of ARI still taking over her company was beginning to press her. She turned to the receptionist. "Lene, could you call ARI please, and set up an appointment so we can sort out the changeover of control and make this as painless as possible. Maybe we can help each other as well, regarding Hans and Madeline."

Chris stepped in and put his hand on the phone receiver so Lene couldn't pick it up. "I think I can do better, now that I know who we are dealing with." He grinned smugly at Anne. "Let me make the call."


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15. Revelations and understanding.**

The sound of helicopter blades stirred Elise from her sleep. She had been dreaming about birds and dogs. She sat up from the old adirondack chair on the porch of the cabin and scanned the sky until she saw it. She leaned back with a sigh of relief and sipped her tea. It was cold but she didn't care. Hans had finally found Anne.

Elise waited until the chopper was almost down before slipping into the cabin to avoid the tornado that was coming. She was enjoying her tea, cold as it was, and didn't need it ruined by the dust stirred up. Given the mess everything was in, there were very few things left in her life that gave her peace. Tea was one of them and she'd be dammed if she'd let anyone take that away. So much had been taken from her already.

When the engines had almost finished shutting down, Elise exited the cabin and approached the aircraft. Anne was already out, still dressed in her business cloths. She looked completely out of place here in her skirt and heels. Anger flared up in Elise though when she saw Chris was with her.

Elise stormed across the field to her sister. "What the hell is he doing here? I can't believe you brought him after what he's done. Are you blind Anne?"

Anne was shocked at the verbal attack but then relaxed and let Elise rant when she realized Hans had probably told Elise a few lies as well.

Elise was in a furry, arms in the air, her face was red and her voice was getting louder. Anne began to giggle at her. It was kind of humours to watch, but at the same time she felt sorrow for Elise at what she must have gone through over the last week being alone. But Elise ranted on.

Anne walked up to her grinning. Elise stopped suddenly when she saw the smirk. It frustrated her that her sister wasn't taking her seriously. "What are you grinning at?" She demanded.

Anne grabbed her and hugged her tight. "I love you Elise."

Elise was stunned. She didn't know what to do. She felt herself become completely disarmed from her aggression and stood there as her sister hugged her. She was confused, so she did the only thing she could and hugged her sister back.

"Everything's going to be okay Elise."

Elise felt her hackles rise again and she stepped back from Anne. "Okay?! Okay? It's not going to be okay Anne. That bastard," she pointed at Chris, "helped steal our company out from under us and give it to a corporate ass who will likely ruin it because he couldn't give a rats ass about it. The company you and I built from scratch. It's not going to be okay Anne. Don't tell me it's going to be okay cause it's not." She turned away from Anne angrily. "Why the hell didn't I see this coming? I knew things weren't right with Chris. Something was off but I was too stupid and blinded by the hope that maybe you had finally found someone nice."

Elise stopped and glared at Anne who was still smirking. "Well? Are you going to say something?"

"Are you going to shut up and stop making a fool of yourself?" Anne teased quietly.

"What?" Elise was confused again. Why was her sister acting like this.

Anne turned serious as she approached Elise. "Hans lied to you Elise."

"What?" Elise stumbled.

"He lied. He lied to you, he lied to me. He lied to us all." Anne stated. "He was working with Madeline to steal funds from the company. He told me you made that deal, just like he probably told you I made it or Chris. It was him, Elise. He did it. And he tried to cover it up. I'm willing to bet that if we start digging we'll find he's been siphoning money off every deal he's ever made at Elan." Anne stopped. She could see Elise needed to process this little bit of information because it had huge ramifications. She could see the hurt forming in her sisters eyes. The betrayal. A final knife stuck in her sisters back by a lying thief.

"Wha..." Elise stumbled and looked confused again but there was sadness and hurt in her eyes. "How do you know?"

"The police came looking for him. They arrested him just before we flew out here. They've arrested Madeline too if that makes you feel better." Anne smirked.

Elise wiped a tear from her eye and smirked back. "Maybe a little."

"Bitch got what she deserved!" Anne smirked.

"Anne!" Elise scolded her. She was shocked at her sister. Anne never spoke like that. "So...Chris had nothing to do with it?"

Anne shook her head. She reached out to Elise and took her hands. "He's just a sweet boyfriend who knows how to cook." She glanced back at Chris with a soft smile.

"What about our company?" Elise still looked concerned.

"Well, technically and legally, ARI now owns sixty three percent of the company. But thanks to Chris, that will be remedied too. Turns out he has a friend at ARI who can help." Anne smiled smugly.

"Well, unless he's real close to Harlson, the owner, I doubt your friend can help." She looked to Chris.

Chris could feel the bitterness still in her voice. She was angry and had every right to be, but it was more than that. There was bitterness in every word. Instead of arguing back he took Anne's cue and just smiled at Elise and tried not to be too smug. "He's fairly close." Chris called back.

It was then that the pilot exited the aircraft, took off his helmet, and Elise noticed it wasn't her own pilot, Jan. It was Anders Harlson. "Hello Elise. It's a pleasure to finally meet you." He held out a hand. "I've been wanting to meet you for some time now."

Elise stood unresponsive with her mouth open. All her instincts told her to scream at this man and attack. He was the enemy. He was to be hated. But the words of her sister " _he lied to us_ " were slowly sifting through her and all the anger and hate she had been harbouring towards ARI and Anders himself didn't seem to have meaning. She was full of pent up anger and wanted to rage but Anne had taken the wind out of her sails. All she was left with was sadness and hurt.

Anders awkwardly put his hand back down when Elise failed to shake it.

"Maybe we should all go inside and sit down." Anne offered. "I think there's a few things we need to clear up."

"I think that would be good." Anders concurred.

Anne watched him walk away with Chris towards the cabin. He was a handsome guy. A couple years older than Chris maybe, and surprisingly, nothing like the reputation he was supposed to have. He was kind, polite and very much a gentleman.

Anne walked over to her sister, noting the tired look on her face. She looked exhausted. Even her eyes looked sad. "Are you alright?"

Elise resisted the urge to turn away. She wanted to run away from everything. She was about to break down again, but Anne moved in and hugged her tight. It gave her strength to contain her emotions. She was so mixed up, she didn't know up from down any more. The only person she felt she could ever trust was holding her now and she didn't want to let go.

Chris led Anders around to the other side of the cabin to enjoy the view and let the girls have a little peace. They settled in the adirondack chairs and chatted for over an hour before Anne finally came over.

"Chris, Elise was wondering she could have a word with you in the cabin. She'd like to apologize." Anne took his hand. "It's hard for her after everything Hans put her through."

Chris stood up. "Is everything alright?"

"It will be. I've explained everything so far. She knows the both of you had nothing to do with it and that it was all Hans and Madeline. It's just that when you've been led to believe something for so long and suddenly find out it's a lie...well, it's hard to change so quickly when your heart is involved." She kissed Chris on the cheek as he left and entered the cabin.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16. Pictures on the wall.**

Chris walked over to the tiny kitchen counter and cupboard where the tea pot sat and poured himself a cup before sitting on the sofa across from Elise.

There was an awkward silence as Elise stared at the floor. "Chris, I just wanted to apologize to you for being so hard on you. For accusing you...I just..." She faltered.

"I know, Elise. It's alright. It wasn't your fault. With everything that was going on, I can't say that I would have felt any different." Chris reached into his pocket and pulled out a chocolate bar. He tore it open and held it out for Elise. "Peace offering..."

A smile crept across the corner of her mouth as she snapped a piece off.

"Anne told me of your weakness." He grinned.

"That little traitor." Elise smiled back, slipping the chocolate into her mouth. She closed her eyes and satisfaction spread across her face as the chocolate melted on her tongue. She made mental note to thank her sister. Anne always seemed to think of everything when it came to taking care of people.

"Chris, I know I've been tough on you, and I'm sorry for that." Elise opened her eyes. "I love my sister. She's all I have. I'm a little protective of her as you've probably noticed. Maybe too protective..."

"Maybe you should tell her."

"What?" Elise looked a little offended.

"Tell her you love her. Elise I'm sorry if I'm sticking my nose in here but she feels like you've been keeping her at arms length all the time. I don't know your reasons and I don't presume to judge but she's told me more than once how she misses the close bond you two used to share together before..." Chris paused, realizing what he was about to say. "Sorry, it's just... She loves you too. A lot. Just thought you'd like to know." He looked down into his mug and swirled it around a couple times.

Elise sniffled and wiped her eyes. It was the first time Chris had seen any sort of soft emotional expression from her.

"Elise, I'm sorry." Chris held out a hand to her and to his surprise she took it.

"Thank You." She whispered. She sniffed again before wiping her nose. "Can I ask you something personal?"

"Yeah sure." Chris replied.

"Who the hell are you and where do you come from?" Elise began to laugh. "Anne keeps telling me that you won't tell her where your from. Are you embarrassed about your family or something?"

Chris began laughing too at the sudden change in direction of the conversation. "No nothing like that. You and Anne have such fascinating lives. Mine just seems dull by comparison so I thought it made things fun to keep a little mystery going." He let go of her hand.

"Are you going to tell her?"

"Yeah, soon."

"Are you going to tell me?" She smirked.

"Sure. As long as it's between us." He grinned back.

Elise made a motion across her mouth with her fingers as if to zip her lips. She kicked off her shoes and put her feet up on the coffee table to get comfortable. She needed the distraction. Besides, this was a good opportunity to get to know the guy who was after her sister.

Chris pulled out his phone and began digging for pictures as he moved over to sit beside her. As he did, something fell out of his pocket.

Elise picked up the business card recognizing it. She flipped it over and read the back and a smirk crossed her face. "What's this?" She held up Anne's card.

Chris felt embarrassed. He still didn't know what Anne had written on the back but he smiled back at Elise before answering. "It's a _Get Out of Jail Free_ card."

"What?" Elise began to laugh.

Chris explained how that card had managed to convince the officer at the police station to cut him some slack and believe his story about being mugged. He also admitted he didn't know what it said yet. Well, that wasn't completely true. The first word was obvious. He read it again when Elise handed it back. "Champagne vil aldri bli det samme."

"It says, Champagne will never be the same." Elise translated with a smug grin. "You two must have had fun on that plane." She smirked at him. "Maybe you'll tell me about it some time. But right now, I want to know about your family."

"My mother currently lives in a small town called Comox on Vancouver Island in Canada. I was born not far from there, on the mainland, along with my twin sister Kristina."

"You have a twin sister?" Elise interrupted with a touch of excitement.

Chris nodded with a grin before continuing. "My father was an electrician until he retired and my mother was an accountant. We lived in Burnaby, British Columbia. When my parents retired, they moved to Comox and bought a fishing boat to take people out fishing on the ocean. They did this together for over ten years." Chris smiled at the memory.

Elise watched him intently. Something about the way he spoke about his family caught her. There was love and pride in his voice that she didn't expect. But there was more to it than that. It took a moment to realize it but there was a yearning in her to hear about his parents, and it had something to do with her not having any. It was a joy and sadness muddled together in unresolved feelings for the loss of her own parents that she never knew she had until now. She'd forgotten how much she truly missed her mom and dad. Maybe the pain had caused her to suppress it. The revelation hit her harder than expected but she managed to keep her emotions in check one more time to hear Chris out. She wanted to know more.

"Anyway," Chris continued, "my father passed away about a year and a half ago. Heart attack. Mom still has the boat. She hires operators now to keep the business going but I don't think her heart is in it since dad died. It's just hard for her to sell something that reminds her so much of him. It was their dream together. She's asked me and Kristina if we would be interested in the business, but I'm a field researcher not a fisherman, and Kristina's married with kids."

Elise's head perked up and she smiled. "You're an uncle?"

"Yeah." He chuckled. "Two nieces." He pulled up a picture of two little blond girls on his phone and handed it to Elise.

A grin spread across her face. "My god they're cute. How old are they? What are their names?"

"They are four and six years old. And their names... Well, their's always some irony in life isn't there."

"What do you mean?"

"Elisabeth and Annafreid." Chris smiled at her.

It took a second for it to register but the names hit her with recognition. "Elise and Anne! Elisabeth and Annafreid." She began to laugh. "That's almost spooky."

"Yeah, when Anne told me your name for the first time I did a double take myself."

"And she doesn't know yet?"

"No. Not yet." He grinned mischievously. "Here," Chris leaned over and swiped passed a couple pictures to one of himself with his arm around an older grey haired woman. "That's my mother."

Elise smiled at the picture. She could see the resemblance between them. Chris was taller but they had similar facial structure. The older woman had an arm around Chris's waist and a laughing smile that showed pride in her son. Elise's grin suddenly faded as she looked into the picture intently. "Where was this taken?"

"My mothers house in Comox. Why?"

"That painting in the background. Where did she get that?" Elise's tone was almost demanding. Chris couldn't figure what had brought about the sudden change.

"I don't know. I think it might have been an engagement present from before my parents were married. I could ask her and find out? Why."

"Look very closely at it."

Chris chuckled at her trying to lighten the mood just a little from this unusual twist. "I don't need to, I grew up with it. I've looked at that picture all my life. It was a favourite of both my parents and me. Actually my sister loved it too. When we were kids we used to fight about who would inherit it when we got old." He smiled at the memory. "Why are you so concerned with it?"

"Because I know who painted that picture. I also know it's only half of a scene that was painted in two pictures. Your mother has one half." She paused, looking up at him. "Anne and I have the other half."

"What?" Chris looked confused.

"What's your mothers name?" Elise asked suddenly.

"Dag. Well, Dagney actually. Everyone calls her Dag." He smiled thinking of his mother.

"Dagney? And your niece is Annafreid?" She looked skeptically at him. "Those are very Scandinavian names. Where are you from?" It was more of a statement then a question. Almost a demand.

"I told you, British Columbia, Canada."

"No! Where's your ancestry from?" Elise looked serious now.

"Well, I don't really know. I think one of my grandfathers was from somewhere around here. He was a fisherman or worked on a boat. I think that's where my parents idea to retire to a fishing boat came from. I could be wrong."

"He was from Norway?" Elise sounded surprised.

"Yeah. I don't know where exactly. I never really knew any of my grandparents. All but one of them died before Kristina and I were born. Kristina and I were only a few years old when our grandmother passed." He fell silent thinking about what little he knew about them when another thought struck him.

"Wait. Back up a minute." Chris looked confused. "How do you know about this painting and that its part of a set? There's no way you could have ever seen it. My parents had it before you were born."

Elise took a last sip of her tea and put the empty mug on the coffee table before standing up. She walked across the room, pulled a tattered old photo album from the shelf and returned to sit beside Chris. She flipped through a few pages of black and white photos until she came across one of a very pretty blond woman, close to Elise's age, holding a small boy of about three or four years of age. The boy was obvious giggling in the photo. The woman had a large grin too.

"That's my grandmother holding my father." Elise stated.

Chris smiled. "She's very pretty."

"Yes. She was." Elise's face took on a bit of a far away look as memories began to flood into her. She quickly pulled herself out. "Look behind them."

"Wha..." Chris's jaw dropped. Hanging on the wall behind them were both paintings, his mothers and the other half he'd never known about, hanging side by side. It suddenly became obvious that the one he'd grown up with was only half a picture. "I always thought it was strange. It was like there should have been more on the one side of the picture. I always thought it looked like...I don't know...like something was missing or..."

"Cut off?" Elise finished for him.

"Yeah. Exactly."

"That's because it was. My grandmother painted that picture. She couldn't find a frame big enough for it so she cut it in half and made two. Now, look closely at the scenery in both."

"Why? What am I looking for?" He asked.

"Just look." She replied.

"Okay." Chris stared at it for a minute.

"Now, come with me." She put the book down, took Chris by the hand and led him out the front door of the cabin. Outside, she walked him straight out about thirty feet and then spun him around to look back at the cabin with the mountain in the background.

Once more Chris stood with his jaw hanging open. How he hadn't seen it before was a complete mystery. He was staring at the painting, but in real life. The mountain scene he'd stared at on his parents wall since he was a small boy was here in front of him in all its natural beauty. "Oh my god." He began to laugh.

"She must have sat somewhere over here when she painted it. And obviously did it before the cabin was built." Elise waved to the general area behind them. "Anne and I have always wondered what happened to the other half of that picture. I'd pay good money to know how your parents got it."

"Sorry Elise, I gotta slow down here a bit. I'm still taking this all in. Doesn't this all seem a little strangely coincidental to you. I got chills when you showed me that photo. And then this!" He waved to the mountains behind the cabin.

Elise turned to him. "Some guy shows up from another country, dating my sister who not only has Norwegian ancestry, but has two nieces with similar names to Anne and myself, and his mother has my grandmothers painting. Hell yeah this freaks me out!" She laughed at him. "I mean...what are the odds? There's obviously a connection somewhere. And I'd sure like to know what it is. It'd be really embarrassing to find out after the fact that my sister married her cousin."

"Whoa! I never thought of that." A sudden sickening feeling came over Chris that if it was true, if they were related, his relationship with Anne was over. He was suddenly very relieved that they hadn't slept together yet. Chris's mind went into analytical mode trying assess the possibility of any sort of family relation between them as he began running through everything he knew about his own ancestry. Which didn't amount to much. He relaxed after a bit as he came to the conclusion that in spite of the coincidences, that chances were extremely slim. It was far more likely that someone in both his and Anne's ancestry were simply acquaintances or good friends.

"Maybe you should think about that next time you put your lips on my sister." She pointed a warning finger at him but Chris also caught a smile in the corner of her mouth. She was teasing him. Her smile faded though when saw the look of concern in his face and she watched him for a moment before the realization hit her. "You really love her, don't you?"

"What?" Chris was startled out of his thoughts.

"I saw it on your face when I said that we might be related. I'm very relieved to say it wasn't a look of guilt, so you likely haven't slept with her yet."

Chris was stunned at how quick she could pick up on such subtle expressions. She was reading him like an open book.

A soft smile crossed Elise's face. "It was more a look of sadness or pain that I saw on you. The realization that if you were related, you'd have to give her up. You ARE in love with my sister! Admit it!" She began to grin at him.

Chris stared down at his feet and smiled awkwardly. "Yes. Guilty as charged, I guess." He admitted quietly.

"You guess?" She huffed.

"It's kind of new for me, I can't really explain it. I love her more than anything or anyone I've ever known. I feel...empty when she's not around." Chris smiled a bit sheepishly. He felt a little embarrassed about admitting his feelings to Elise.

"Have you told her?" Elise asked softly.

"No. Not yet. But I think she knows. It just seems too early to admit something like that. I don't want to rush things. I didn't want to scare her off. I mean...we've only known each other a short time but..." He sighed. "How could I be in love with her so soon? It just doesn't seem...I don't know...plausible? But...I am. Without a doubt." He looked Elise directly in the eyes. "I am in love with your sister." Chris couldn't help smiling when he spoke those words. To actually hear himself say it seemed to make it more real.

"You know Chris, I got some good advice from a friend once who told me that maybe _You should tell her._ " She emphasized the last part and winked at him.

"Maybe we both should." He smiled back. "Are you going to tell her about the picture?"

A sly grin crossed her face. "Not yet. I'm thinking I like your mystery plan better. Let's put our heads together later and come up with a good scheme. Come on, let's go find the others. I'm getting hungry."


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17. Shotgun friendship.**

After supper, the four sat in the cabin together relaxing by the fire. They had decided to stay the night and return in the morning to deal with the aftermath. Anders however, had brought his satellite phone and had been in continual contact with his office. They had learned that the company Hans had been investing in, Mahan, was a dummy corporation set up just to have someplace to siphon money into. It only took them a few minutes to put two and two together to figure out where they came up with the name. Or this case two and three, as in the first two and three letters of Madeline's and Hans's name. Elise scoffed at the lack of originality. They also learned that all assets of Mahan had been seized and would be held until the outcome of the trial. Elise and Anne both breathed a huge sigh of relief. Things would be a little messy for a week or two but it was looking like it would all sort out in the end.

Elise began eyeing her sister. "Tell me Anne? How did you get Anders to come with you out here? I've tried calling over there once before and I couldn't get past the secretary." She leaned over to look at Anders. "She's good, by the way."

"I like her." Anders shrugged.

"I didn't do a thing. It was Chris." Anne looked innocently at her sister.

"It was what?" Elise stared at Chris who just shrugged.

"We're old friends." Was all Chris offered.

That answer, however, was not enough to satisfy Elise. "So tell me. How did you meet and how is it that you have this kind of influence over the all powerful Anders Harlson." There was just a little bit more snide aggression in Elise's tone than she had intended and her sister noticed, giving her a quick glare.

Anders and Chris exchanged a look that Elise caught but couldn't place. Concern maybe?

Chris cleared his throat before beginning. "A few years ago, his company sponsored some research in northern Canada. Anders, being an outdoors kind of guy, and a being a responsible business man, wanted to see where his money was going. So he came and joined us for a couple weeks."

"And...?" Elise pressured.

"We got to be friends." Chris stated.

"Thats it?" Elise looked impatiently back and forth between them.

Anders smiled politely before letting out a sighing laugh. "Thank you Chris." He nodded to his friend. "What Chris is politely leaving out is how I made a complete ass of myself. And believe me when I say ' _ass_ ' is the proper word to describe me."

Elise suddenly sat up straighter. Any story of the Anders Harlson making himself look stupid was was worth her full attention.

"In the wilderness, you are never alone." Anders continued. "There's always wildlife around. And some of it can be dangerous. All the researchers know this and prepare accordingly."

"Accordingly?" Anne looked at him questionably.

"Guns." Chris answered her. "We usually carry a shot gun to try to scare off bears if needed." He caught a raised eyebrow from Anne. "We don't kill them except in extreme life threatening situations. You don't learn much from the wildlife if they're dead. The conservationists get ticked off too as do our sponsors. It makes them look bad. We typically just fire a shot or two in the air. It's usually enough to startle a charging bear into retreating."

"I, however..." Anders interrupted, "in my macho ignorance didn't know that, nor was I able to step out of my shell of conceit and arrogance to ask and find out. I was the big shot outdoors man." He rolled his eyes at himself and shook his head. "Anyways, on my third day there, I was dropped off by helicopter with Chris to a remote area. We'd been there a few hours when a big old black bear showed up."

Anders rubbed his forehead and face once or twice before exchanging grins with Chris.

"Chris was a little ways off from me doing whatever he was doing. Research stuff. The gun was leaning against a boulder next to me. Being the cocky rich boy, having done my share of target shooting, I turned to grab for the gun. In my panic at seeing the bear, I tripped, kicked the gun over and it went off." He held his head in his hands.

Chris stifled a laugh. Both Anne and Elise looked back and forth, with confusion, between Chris and Anders.

"To this day, I don't know what exactly happened. Or how it even went off. Whether it was stray shot or some of it ricocheted off the rocks, I don't know, but I was hit by several pellets of shot.

Anne had her hand over her mouth. "You were shot? Chris, you beast. Stop laughing at him."

"Sorry I can't help it. It's just too funny. I've been waiting years to be able to hear this story told." Chris tried unsuccessfully to stop laughing.

"Chris!" Anne stammered. "He was shot! That's mean."

Elise, however, was trying almost as hard to stifle her laugh.

Anders lifted his head and grinned at Chris and held up an offering hand. "Go ahead. You're dying to say it."

The girls looked back at Chris.

"He shot himself in the ass." Chris burst out laughing.

Anne covered her mouth in surprise. Elise, however, fell back in gales of laughter. "The great Anders Harlson, money making tycoon, outdoors woodsman, brought down by his own clumsiness and panic." she thought to herself.

"Yep." Anders sighed in his shame. "Shot my own ass. I deserved it too. I'd been a cocky prick since I'd first arrived."

"So what happened?" Elise stifled another giggle.

"Well," Chris began, "I don't know if it was the shot, or all the screaming and jumping around that followed, but that poor old bear got the scare of a lifetime."

Elise was almost on the floor with laughter. Anne too couldn't help laughing.

"Anne," Anders looked up at her, "you would have been proud of Chris. He was cool and calm through the whole thing. Bear, gun shot, and my bloody ass. He never lost his cool even once. Didn't even yell at me for being such a clumsy dumb twit." He shook his head again.

"So there I was," Anders continued, "in the middle of northern nowhere, with my pants down, bent over a boulder and Chris picking buckshot out of my ass with tweezers from the first aid kit. He gave me a shot of penicillin, again in my ass, and patched me up. The whole time I was begging him not to tell anyone and was promising him anything to keep his mouth shut. If word got out, I'd never live it down. It would be public humiliation that would have rippling effects all through my company. God only knows how the shareholders would have reacted. Chris, graciously promised to not say anything. A promise to which he has kept to this day."

"And no one found out?" Anne asked.

"No." Chris answered. "We reported the bear when we got back, in case anyone else went into the area. And as far as the first aid supplies, we told them we must have dropped them while pulling out slivers and not noticed."

"I spent the next two weeks with Chris, avoiding everybody else for fear of someone noticing my discomfort and finding out somehow. In that time, we got to be good friends and I got an education in research and wildlife."

"You must of payed him off good!" Elise returned.

"Yes. When I asked him want he wanted to keep quiet, all he said was 'Shit happens out here. Buy me a beer when we get out and we'll call it even.' And so I did."

"What?" Elise looked at Chris in disbelief. "You had the owner and CEO of ARI by the balls, or in this case by the ass, and you let him off the hook with just a beer?"

Anne winced at her sisters crass reference.

Elise shook her head at Chris. "Wimp."

"I'd call him a gentleman myself." Anders retorted. "Besides, he earned my respect that day and my friendship. We've kept in touch ever since. He even brought me home to meet his family."

"What?" Anne looked annoyed glancing between the two men. "He won't even tell me who they are, let alone where he's from."

"What? You didn't tell her?" Anders looked at his friend with surprise.

Chris shrugged. "Haven't had the chance to explain."

"More like your avoiding the subject." Elise chortled. "I still can't believe you let him off the hook like that. Have you any concept of what this man's worth? What you could have got out of him?" She subtly changed the subject to keep her sister from asking questions and exchanged a quick conspiratorial glance with Chris.

"I got everything I wanted out of him." Chris countered.

"Like what?" Anne asked carefully. She thought she knew where he was going with it. At least she suspected, but she wanted him to confirm what she already knew and say it in front of Elise. Both her view of Anders and Elise's were changing drastically from who they thought he was to who he really was. Ann was liking him more and more. He wasn't the silver spoon fed, rich brat they had been led to believe and she wanted to be sure Elise saw it too.

"I got one of the biggest companies in Europe to see first hand the importance of what we do and understand the need for funding research like this. Because of that, he has taken a much more active role in protecting the environment, both in his personal life and in the decisions made within his company."

"Maybe we're on to something here, Chris." Anders grinned. "Maybe we need to buy more guns and shoot all the corporate big shots in the back side."

"Can I come?" Elise piped up. "There's a few corporate asses I'd like to shoot too."

"It's a date." Anders chuckled.

Elise gave him an awkward glare.

"Don't worry Elise. It doesn't mean we're getting married or anything." Anders smirked at her. "I think anything that serious requires shooting at least a politician in the ass."

Elise stifled another awkward laugh. But strangely enough, the comment made her think seriously about Anders and who he was. In spite of everything she had been led to believe, she liked him.

Throughout the evening the four continued telling embarrassing stories about themselves. Anders took his fair share of ribbing as jokes about shooting himself continued through the night.

At one point, Elise sat back and just observed the other three people with her and smiled to herself. She hadn't had this much fun with friends in a very long time. Watching Anne, she smiled at the subtle interactions between her and Chris. There were glances, subtle eye contact, and little touches of the hands here and there. It made her smile. She felt a touch of jealousy watching them but more then anything she was happy for her sister. The more she got to know Chris, the more she liked him and saw how well he fit together with Anne.

Anders too continued to surprise her. She had admitted to herself that she liked him. That's what surprised her most. She had always had the impression from his public image that he was the spoiled rich playboy who payed everyone to make him look good. Nothing could have been further from the truth. Except that he did look good. But not in the same way she had thought Hans had looked good. Where Hans had tried too hard to have that perfect, almost artificial image, Anders was handsome, but with imperfections and he didn't seem to care that he had imperfections or who saw them. He was a lot more true to himself. On a personal level, he was polite, caring and a perfect gentleman.

More than once that evening Elsie found herself staring at Anders. Each time she managed to catch herself put her heart in check. If something was to develop between them, she wouldn't stop it, but she needed some time first. She recognized that she needed a break after the mess with Hans to sort out both her head and her heart.

Towards the end of the evening, Anne asked Chris to step outside with her for some fresh air before bed.

Elise exchanged a knowing glance with Anders. They both knew her sister just wanted to smooch her boyfriend before bed. As Chris walked past, Elise caught his eye and said one word to him. "Cousins."

A look of shock crossed his face for half a second before he saw the teasing grin on Elise. He grinned back before leaning in and whispering, "That's kissing cousins to you!"

Elise laughed.

The door clicked shut leaving Elise alone with Anders.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18. Clearing the mountain air.**

"Can I ask you something Elise?" Anders looked carefully at her.

"I guess so." Elise replied unenthusiastically.

"Why did you hire Hans. He's a terrible guy, as you've learned. And even more so, why did you date him?" Anders gave her an exaggerated scowl.

Elise wanted to be offended at that comment but she had to admit to herself that he was right. She thought for a moment before answering. "When we met I thought he was nice. He was handsome, charming, and seemed like a nice guy. How was I to know he was a liar and a complete ass."

"Well, you checked his references didn't you."

"Yeah, his last place of employment was YOUR company. I called your office and they gave me a very good reference or him. Said he was one of the best and they were sorry to lose him."

"They what?" Anders looked baffled.

"Yeah, they said he was an excellent resource to have and they were sad to see him go."

"That's impossible." Anders looked dumbfounded. "Are you sure you called MY office?"

"Why, what's wrong?" Elise looked confused.

"Because I fired him for being a sneaky, underhanded, backstabbing liar. He screwed over several of my employees just to get ahead. Got them fired for stuff they didn't do. He's smart devious and self centred. Fortunately we caught on before the damage went too far. I don't know who you talked to but sure it wasn't anyone in my office." He paused and then looked up at Elise. "Or maybe it was... I'm betting he gave you the reference number to call? It was likely a setup and I'll bet I know who was working with him."

"Madeline." Elise spat out. Her shoulders slumped and she dropped her head into her hands trying to keep it together. She had come so close to losing everything including herself. The stress was taking its toll. Even after all the evenings laughter she was still feeling on edge. Her emotions were still too close to the surface. She tried hard not to cry in front of Anders but couldn't help it. Tears started coming. She felt like such a sap crying in front of everyone all the time. But maybe that was okay she reasoned. She was tired of playing tough all the time.

"Madeline." Anders whispered in agreement. "Those two were thick as thieves. When we fired Hans, we had nothing on her but we knew she was involved. We had no proof." He moved over to sit by her on the sofa "Hey, we can fix this. We can fix him too. Maybe for good. It'll be okay. I'll help you."

Without thinking, Elise turned, hugged him tight and cried. All the misery and stress she'd endured the past year had boiled to the surface and was overwhelming. She probably could have held it together if not for Hans and his lies. Each time his name was brought up she seemed to discover some new thing he'd done to hurt her. It felt like a knife continually being twisted in her stomach. She felt so hurt and betrayed and just wanted someone to hold her. Someone to help her feel safe. She felt a little awkward about the situation though. She was revealing a weakness to someone she didn't know if she could trust. Someone who could potentially hurt her. But she was so emotionally exhausted at this point that she really didn't care.

Elise sat back again letting go of Anders. "I'm sorry." She apologized for hugging him. "Why would help me? What are you hoping to gain from this?" She wiped her eyes. No one did anything without something to gain, did they?

"I'm helping because I've suspected for a long time that your not who the media makes you out to be. In addition I'm probably not the person you think I am either."

"What do mean?" She questioned.

"If I were to believe the media, you would be one of the coldest hearted human beings in the corporate world. A hungry ruthless business predator. 'The Ice Queen.' Your sister, however has the complete opposite reputation and so I have a hard time believing yours can be even half true. But look at it this way. Who am I? What do you know about me and my company?" He looked at her for a moment to let the question sink in.

Elise just stared at him a little bewildered. She was starting to see where he was going with this. She had already figured out that the man sitting next to her was not the man she thought he was.

"Elise, I have a reputation for being a hungry shark, lurking in corporate waters, just waiting to strike. I have a reputation for being an arrogant rich playboy as well as other things." He sighed. "I can't deny there's some truth to some of it. When I was young, when I started out...I wasn't the smartest in that regard and I've paid for it. I made some rather ruthless deals that helped my company financially but hurt me in the end. I've made an ass of myself in public social circles...and other places as you've learned tonight." He grinned at Elise and she smiled back. "It took me a while to grow up and understand that a lack of conscience comes at a price I don't want to pay. I'm a slow learner I guess." He chuckled and caught another smile from Elise. "Fortunately I haven't acted or operated like that in many years. But reputations linger. So when I look at you, I see someone in a similar situation having similar struggles and I can relate. I have sympathy. I know what big business can do to you. I know what bad business and bad influences can do as well. There's a lot of stress and a lot of frustration that makes you just want run, hide and cry your soul out. And still we have to walk around with heads held high and smiles on our faces for the company and media. On top of that you have your heritage and the difficulties of losing your parents at a young age. I know it can't be easy for you. With that understanding, I can't help but think that you can't be that much different than your sister. A beautiful, caring, loving woman who's been boxed in far too long, playing the part everyone wants. There's only so long you can stay in the box before you crack. I know."

Elise just sat quietly staring at the floor. Occasionally she wiped a stray tear away.

"Elise I'm not your enemy. I'm not even you're competition. You ask me what I want from this? For a long time now I've wanted to meet you. I've wanted to get to know you, not as people on opposite sides of business, but as friends, colleagues or something. Anything. We have a lot in common. We could help each other both as friends and business partners."

"So why didn't you introduce yourself earlier?" She asked.

"When you started out, you had a reputation that I admit scared me a little. Maybe you're not aware of it, but you can be rather intimidating." He smiled to Elise and she gave a subtle grin back. "And at the time I was wrapped up in my own stupid problems. When I finally began to see past the reputation, you had already hired Hans which made me rethink who I thought you were for a long time because I had fired him. After a while though, I began to see through it all and I wanted to warn you about him but by then it was too late."

"Why?"

Anders laughed. "Considering what you thought about me before tonight, can you honestly tell me that if I walked up to you and told you Hans was a lying cheat you and that I wanted to be your friend, that you would actually believe I was on the level and not trying to pull some trick on you?"

Elise chuckled. "No. Sorry, I guess not."

"I'm sorry too Elise. I'm sorry I didn't come to you sooner and try to warn you about him. But if you'll let me, I think I can help you now."

"I think I'd like that. Thank you Anders." Elise relaxed some of the tension she'd been holding in. "It's been so hard. I feel so alone some days."

"It's cliche, but it's true about being lonely at the top. And not having you're parents doesn't help either, I'm sure." Anders watched her brush a lock of stringy blond hair from her red eyes. "I remember the funeral."

Elise looked up at him with surprise. "You were there? You were at my parents funeral?"

"Yes. Their death was a blow for the whole country. You're parents were very well respected."

"Thank you." Elise reached over and took his hand. It was warm. Hers felt cold and clammy and her hand felt small in his. She felt small. She felt defeated with life, like she'd hit bottom. But at the same time, she recognized that she had friends standing around her with hands reaching out to help her up. She felt grateful as she took her hand back.

"The cathedral was packed." Anders continued. "I was fourteen. My father pointed you out to me and said, 'Watch that girl son, if she survives this, she'll be a force to be reckoned with.' Of course I didn't make sense of it at the time. All I could see was two very pretty girls who were so sad that all I wanted to do was go over and offer to do anything I could to help cheer you up." He smirked to himself. "My dad was a pretty shrewd judge of character. I'd say he was right."

Elise blushed just a little. She felt a warmness in her heart growing for him. Anders was right. He wasn't the man she thought he was.

"So. What do you say? Can we be friends?" He held out a hand to her.

Elise stared at the offered hand for a few seconds contemplating her next move. She reached out her hand to his but instead of taking it in hers, she swatted his aside. For a half second, Anders looked surprised and disappointed until Elise leaned over and pulled him into a hug. "Sorry, a handshake just isn't good enough." She whispered to him.

Elise let go of Anders and sat back on the sofa. "So how can you help me? You own most of my company." She wiped her eyes and tried to clear her head and refocus.

"Your company shares were sold to me legally, but without your full knowledge. If I were Hans, I might be able to try to find a way to make it stick. But I'm not Hans. And I have no interest in owning or controlling Elan Enterprises. I've got enough on my own plate that if I was in control, Elan would likely suffer without the care and attention you and your sister put into it. Besides, somewhere along the line I seem to have grown a bit of a conscience." He tried to look concerned but laughed at Elise instead. "I couldn't sleep at night or even live with myself knowing how it was obtained and who suffered for it. So I'm more than willing to give it back."

Elise's head snapped up. "Really? Just like that?"

"Of course. You're a force to be reckoned with, Elise." Anders smirked at her. "I have no desire to get into a legal battle with you. I don't think either of us could afford that. The bad press alone would be devastating. When we get back to the office, I'll sign it all back over to you and Anne."

"What about the money?"

"I trust you. When the lawyers get back all the funds Hans and Madeline embezzled, you can pay me then. Personally, I would have dismissed it as a good tax write off but I also don't want you to feel like you're indebted to me." He smiled at her.

"Thank you." Elise smiled back, thinking again about reputations. She had Anders pegged so wrong.

* * *

The early morning sun was peeking over the mountains while Anders was untying the helicopter blades and pulling off the engine covers. The others had come out and just begun loading their things when he paused to stare at the mountain peak beyond the cabin. He was lost in thought when Elise called to him.

"Hey, what are you looking at?"

"I was just wishing I had more time here. It's beautiful. And that peak...I'd love to come back and climb it." He smiled to her.

"Do you climb?" Elise looked a little surprised.

"Haven't done it in years, but I used to really enjoy it when I was younger. How about you?" He looked back at Elise.

"I was up there two days ago." Elise grinned at him and pointed to the summit acting a little haughty. She tried desperately to hide the pain and stiffness in her muscles from that climb.

A smile crossed Anders face. "Would it be inappropriate to ask you to take me there some day? I'd love to sit up there and enjoy the view."

"No, not really. But you'd have to ask." She teased.

"Elise Brekke, would you take me to the summit?" Anders asked with a pleasant smile.

"Oh my god Anders! That's the worst pick up line I've ever heard!" Anne scoffed and began laughing from behind.

Anders turned around, red faced to see Anne and Chris grinning smugly behind him. He shook his head in embarrassment. "I set myself up for that, didn't I?"

"Shut up and fly, Anders." Elise grinned at him as she climbed in.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19. Resolutions, secrets and family histories.**

The four returned to Oslo in the helicopter, landing on top of the Ice Palace first. Elise wanted to shower and change and to let Anne and Chris out before she and Anders flew over to the ARI building. There would be details for Elise and Anders to sort out but also press to deal with.

Although she was tired, Elise managed to make herself presentable with the help of Anne. As a last minute change, at the urging of her sister, she decided to forgo the strict business attire she usually wore and went for a softer look. Instead, Anne picked out a deep blue dress that, although it still carried a little bit of a professional look to it, was a little more elegant and showed off a little more of her feminine attributes. Anne told her it made her look beautiful and would let people see a more personal side to her and help fight the Ice Queen image. As expected by now, word had gotten out about Hans Isaksen's arrest and the press were banging down the doors of both ARI and Elan for information and interviews. Anne wanted her sister looking good for the cameras.

After conferring with his lawyers, Anders called a formal press conference that afternoon, with Elise at his side, to clear up some basic details of what was happening. Partly he wanted to curb any rumours flying about that might cause any bad publicity but more importantly he wanted to keep the shareholders from panic.

Aside from the facts that both had been terminated from their positions and were now in police custody, Anders strategically deferred many of the questions on Hans and Madeline to the police, but very carefully let out enough tid-bits to satisfy the greedy hoard of gossipers who disguised themselves as press.

Elise did her best not to look as exhausted as she felt. After Anders had finished his speech, she stepped up to say a few words. The cameras went crazy taking pictures of her. Elise smiled brightly for them. She felt a silly urge to fling her hair about and pose as she had done when she had been a model so many years ago. The press would go crazy over it. Elise stifled a laugh and refrained. But the fact that she considered doing it was a good sign she was feeling better. Her sense of humour was coming back.

As the camera flashes died down, she began to speak, reaffirming what Anders had already said, and reaffirmed that Elan and ARI would be working together to resolve the problem at hand. She very carefully and professionally alluded to Hans's infidelity as well as his duplicity in stealing funds from Elan. Playing the beautiful, but deeply hurt girl would likely keep the gossip mongers happy and on her side for quite some time. Showing a little emotion would also go a long way in helping to shed the Ice Queen image.

Following the conference, Elise returned to the Ice Palace with Anders to find Anne and Chris sharing a drink in the lounge and eagerly awaiting their return.

Chris did a double take on Elise as he had not seen her since she got off the helicopter. This morning she was a woman who looked haggard and exhausted, wearing yesterday's hiking cloths and her hair hadn't seen a brush in days, let alone a shower. The woman standing before him now was nothing short of gorgeous. This was a woman who could easily be a very successful model if she chose. He suddenly felt intimidated by her beauty.

"She cleans up not too badly, hey?" Anders chided Chris from behind.

"Ahhh, yeah." Chris stumbled. He was embarrassed to be caught staring. And staring at Anne's sister no less. He shook his head and turned to look at Anders who was also also looking rather dashing in a black suit and silk tie. He noted Anders tie matched Elise's dress.

"Don't worry buddy. If you can keep my ass shooting story quiet for as long as you have, I think I can forget to mention to Anne that you couldn't take your eyes off her sister." Anders teased him.

"Ahhh...thanks." Chris chuckled. "Can I get you a drink? I think I need another."

"Sure", Anders chuckled, "whatever you're having."

"Elise, Anders? I have something I'd like you too see." Anne spoke up from across the lounge. She held a couple papers in her hand as she sat on the divan. Elise sat beside her and Anne handed her the papers.

"I've already seen these Anne." Elise looked at her questioningly.

"What is it?" Anders inquired.

"It's the falsified deal and Hans's resume." Elise responded.

"Look closer." Anne smirked.

"What? What am I looking for?"

"Look at the phone number." Anne pointed it out on both pages.

"They're the same!" Elise looked a little surprised but somehow not.

"How much do you want to bet that's Madeline's phone." Anne smiled at her.

Anders pulled out his cell and scrolled through his company contacts until he found what he wanted, then handed his phone to Elise to compare. It confirmed what she already knew. He then pointed to the bottom left corner of both pages where a matching ten digit number was displayed. "That's a serial code on all our documents. Tells us which printer it came from. You'll notice they match. Let me copy these before you give them to the police. I'll trace the number. Although I'm pretty sure I know whose printer they came from."

"Bastard!" Elise swore again. "Everything was a damn setup right from the beginning." She hung her head in her hands and tried to calm herself. She felt so used and betrayed. She wondered if Hans ever had any feelings for her or if it was all a scam to steal her money. Even though Hans and her had been on shaky ground before this all happened, it still hurt. It hurt bad. It was just one more twist on the knife.

Elise felt herself beginning to spiral down into despair until a hand from her sister began rubbing softly across her back. She looked up at Anne. "What would mom and dad think of me now? Falling for that ass, letting him mess up our company, letting him come between you and I?

Anne smiled back softly. "They would be proud of you, Elise. They would be proud of both of their little princesses and what they've accomplished." She grinned brighter.

"After all these years, in spite of all the fuss, dinners at the palace, and the annoying media," Elise looked back at Anne, "I've never really felt like one. It always seemed more like some abstract thing with no meaning, or something the media used to put us down with."

"Yeah, I know. But it doesn't negate the fact that we are. It's the one thing our grandmother gave us that no one can take away." Anne looked over to Chris who had suddenly become very interested in their conversation.

"Wait a minute." Chris eyed the girls. "Your kidding about this right? I mean, you two aren't actually..."

"What?" Anders looked surprised. "They didn't tell you Chris?" He turned to Anne. "Anne! You didn't tell him?"

"Tell me what?" Chris looked around at everyone.

"Do you people not talk to each other? They're both Princess's you fool." Anders teased him. "I can't believe you didn't tell him." Anders scolded Anne.

"I know. I'm sorry Chris." Anne looked apologetic. She felt lousy for not telling him. "I wanted to, I was going to. Things just happened so fast and then all the company mess, I just didn't get the chance."

Chris didn't know whether to surprised by this revelation or offended at being kept in the dark about something so important. But as he thought about it, everything seemed to make sense. But at the same time, a subtle fear took hold of him. If Anne really was royalty, wouldn't her marriage be arranged or set up somehow to someone who was also royalty? That same sick feeling came over him again as when Elsa suggested he might be related to Anne. But reality suddenly reminded him that Anne was dating him by choice. In addition, Elise dated Hans by choice. Chris felt himself relax a little until another thought hit him.

Chris turned to Elise. "Wait, does that mean you could actually be Queen someday?"

Elise forced a pleasant smile. "No. I won't be. And neither will Anne unless some terrible catastrophe happens. We are not descendants of the current King and Queen. We are..." Elise paused looking for the right word or phrase.

"...an alternate line of descendants." Anne finished.

Elise smiled at her. "That's a diplomatic way to phrase it. I like it." She turned back to Chris. "Illegitimate would be more accurate. But as I said in order for one of us to take the throne, the entire royal family, parents children, grandchildren, aunts uncles, etcetera would have to be wiped out before they would consider one of us. So yes, technically we are royalty, and yes technically that makes us both princesses, but mostly its like a quiet honorary title out of respect for the blood line. Neither of us have any interest in playing the part. Although we do maintain contact with the royal family, we're related after all."

Chris turned to Anne as the pieces began to fit. "That's how you got us into the palace courtyard for tea the other day wasn't it?"

Anne shrugged sheepishly in admission.

"And why it irritated you when I teased you, calling you princess. It was because...

"I am a Princess." Anne finished shyly. "Technically."

"Sorry for teasing you about it." Chris walked over to sit by her.

"It's not your fault Chris. Your didn't know." Anne replied with a half hearted smile. "I don't mind being called a princess, it's who I am, it's just how the title is sometimes used that bothers me."

"And the reactions at the police station." He stared at her as the lights continued to turn on in his brain. So many things began to make sense. The tabloids weren't just teasing when they referred to Anne and Elise as princess or queen. They were mocking a royal title. That's why it angered Elise and Anne so much. The reality suddenly became clear how mean and nasty these tabloids were and he felt like he wanted to go to the magazines editor and punch him in the face.

"Can I ask why you didn't tell me before?" Chris thought he knew, but he wanted to hear Anne's side of it. He didn't want to make any assumptions.

"Would you have asked me out if you knew? Or treated me the same way?" Anne replied quietly.

"I don't know. Maybe. Maybe not. But I never got the chance to find out." Chris felt guilty the moment those words left his mouth. It was a slap in the face he hadn't intended to give. "But I understand why." He added apologetically.

"I'm sorry Chris. I should have told you after the police station. Sometimes it's hard to trust people. I guess I just wanted to know for sure that you liked me for me. Not because I was part of the royal family, or anything else." Anne looked sadly into Chris's face and held his hand.

"Anne," Chris looked seriously at her. He glanced at Elise for a second and then back to Anne. "I don't LIKE you."

Anne's eyes snapped up to his expecting to see a teasing grin, but when she saw he was serious, a look of fear began to spread across her face. Elise too looked up at Chris.

Anne looked confused as a sly grin grew on Chris and he spoke quietly. "I don't like you Anne. I love you." He paused to let that sink in for a moment. "I love you Anne Brekke."

Anne's face lit up, smiling uncontrollably.

"Anne," Elise cut in. "You've got five seconds to kiss him or I will!"

Anne didn't hesitate to move in, still grinning. Just before their lips met, she whispered back, "I love you too."

Anne had kissed him a lot over the past few days, but this kiss was by far the happiest. She couldn't stop smiling as she kissed him. She ignored the fact that Anders and her sister were still in the room watching, and pushed Chris over on the sofa, climbing on top to kiss him harder.

Elise fought the urge to make a snide remark about them getting a room or some other sarcastic comment. She decided to make a conscious effort to be more supportive and filter out the negative influence Hans had made on her. Instead, she sat back and smiled, watching her little sister kiss the man she loved. It made her smile. She exchanged an awkward glance with Anders and started to chuckle.

Elise waited until they separated and sat up before speaking. "Anne, I think you'd better hold on to this stray."

"Elise?" Chris gave her a funny look. "Are you actually giving me your approval?"

"Hmmm." Elise pretended to ponder the question thoughtfully. "I'll let you know. But another one of those fantastic home cooked meals of yours might help with my decision."

"Absolutely. It's a d..." Chris paused thinking about what he was about to say.

"...date?" Elise finished for him. She grinned at him with raised eyebrows.

"No it's not." Anne cut in. "Get your own man. This ones mine." Anne shot back laughing.

Elise stood and walked over for a better look at Chris. "I don't know sis, he's kind of cute. And he can cook." She eyed Chris up and down just to tease her sister before laughing at them. "And by the looks of it, he's a good kisser."

Chris was beginning to look flushed and embarrassed.

"Jeez Chris. I think you may have melted the Ice Queen." Anders teased him.

Chris continued to turn a darker shade of red.

Elise sat back down on the sofa beside Anders and turned to him. "Sometimes ice just needs a strong enough heat source." She eyed Anders with a soft smile and very subtly batted her eyelashes at him.

Anne's mouth fell open with surprise as she caught the flirtatious move by her sister.

Chris finished his drink and quickly got up to get another one. He didn't want another drink, he just wanted out of the awkward place he was being put in. He was starting to sweat from embarrassment.

Chris filled his glass with water and returned to the sofa beside Anne. "So tell me about your family. How did you become an _alternate line_." He pushed to change the subject.

Anne and Elise exchanged a look trying to decide who would start.

Elise cleared her throat and began. "Our grandfather, Soren, was the Prince, in line for the throne after his father King Halvard. His mother, Queen Hanne, had been pressuring her husband to find a wife for their son. The King made plans to travel with the Queen to meet another royal family in a neighbouring country to make arrangements for a union for their son. King Halvard was not in favour of this, but his own marriage had been prearranged so it was hard to argue with his wife on the subject. They were gone for three weeks."

"As it happened, the day after they left, a young noblewoman named Annika, arrived at the palace. She spoke to a young man of her age that she found working in the hallways, making repairs, and inquired if she could have a tour of the palace. When the man pressed her for her identity she admitted that she was the youngest of four daughters of the King of another neighbouring country. Not having any prospect of inheriting anything, being the youngest, Annika therefore did not want to submit to any prearrangement of marriage but wished to find her own future. Informally, she was essentially renouncing her title if she married in this manner. Upon her fathers advice, she left home and came to live here. She bought a small estate up the coast to live, and then one day, on a whim, came to see the palace. The young man told her he could give her a tour. By the end of the tour, the Princess Annika was enamoured with this young labourer, and he with her. She was impressed with his knowledge and manner. He asked if she would return the next day. She did so, and continued to do so for the next week. By the end of the week both had realized they were in love. She asked him to marry her and come live with her on the coast. The young man was torn. His father would never allow it. Finally he had to confess. He was the Prince Soren and his parents had left to arrange for his marriage to someone he'd never met."

"She was stunned. The Princess had no desire for a life of royalty, but she was in love. They kept up hope that either the arrangement his parents made would not work out or that they could call it off when they returned. They spent the next two weeks together growing ever closer."

"When the King and Queen returned, it was announced that the arrangement was a success and their son would be married. The young prince told them of the Princess Annika he'd met and fallen in love with."

"The King was upset, but Queen Hanne, she was angry. She refused to allow her husband to call off the wedding and forbade her son to ever see this girl again. Prince Soren was heartbroken. The Queen then sent a letter to the young Princess on the coast, without her husband or sons knowledge, telling Annika to never see her son again and to never return to the palace. She was not welcome!"

In three months the Prince was married to his prearranged wife. Princess Carina. She turned out to be a very nice girl. His father had not been able to talk his wife out of an arranged marriage for their son, but was able to dictate who he would allow to be the mother of his grandchildren. He had picked well."

"About a year after his son's wedding, King Halvard was traveling and found himself along the coastal village where the young Princess Annika had built her small estate. He decided to visit this girl and see who she really was as she had never returned. She had a modest home for a Princess and only one servant who answered the door. The servant, of course, recognized the King immediately and took him out to the garden where the Princess was planting."

"As he approached, the girl was on her knees working hard. Beside her was a basket with a baby. The King let out a small sigh of relief that the girl had found a husband and moved on. He introduced himself, much to her surprise. She looked scared. As they talked the King found this girl to be very pleasant, educated, and refined in spite of her dirty gardening hands. He also learned of the letter his wife had written and apologized for it as well as the handling of the situation between his son and her. When he asked if there was anything he could do for her and her husband, she awkwardly admitted she had no husband. The King looked in the basket at the baby. He lifted the child out to hold the boy and when he did he was shocked. He looked to the girl and she began to cry. The child was the Kings grandson. There was no question of it. She begged the King not to take her child. 'Does my son know?' He asked. 'No one knows.' She replied."

"The King returned the baby, hugged the Princess and apologized. It was too late to change the situation. But he made sure to salvage what he could. He offered to let her live in the palace but she refused fearing the scandals and the damage to the Prince's marriage. He decided in the end to keep the child a secret from the Queen and every one for now, and instead supported the girl in secret."

"Several years later, Queen Hanne fell ill and died. The King decided it was time to mend things before it was too late and so he introduced the Prince, and his wife Carina, to the boy and his mother. The Princess Carina was forgiving of her husbands youthful indiscretions. It was a little rough at the beginning, but in the end, Carina and Annika became good friends. Their children were introduced as cousins and grew up together."

"The boy, Jarl, grew up in the coastal estate and eventually married a princess similar to his mother. She was very pretty, well educated, and like the boy's mother, the youngest in a large royal family. They had two daughters. The girls unfortunately, were not even teenagers when their parents died in a car accident."

Elise quietly looked at Chris, watching as the light of recognition came on in his eyes. The two girls in the end of the story were sitting with him right now.

The room fell silent when Elise finished. It was a striking tale of tragedy that Chris thought bordered on Romeo and Juliette. Anne and Elise were now the third generation and still dealing with the tragedies of their parents and grandparents. He wanted to know more. He wanted to know how Anne's parents had died but felt this wasn't the time to ask. He wanted to know about their royal lineage. About their mothers family and their grandfather who should have been King. Technically, the way Chris understood it, Anne's father, Jarl, should have been King. Illegitimate or not, he was still the first born. He had never really paid much attention to monarchies and how it all worked.

Chris looked around the room and saw everyone seemed to be quietly thinking about the story. Both Anne and Elise were lost in thought. Sifting through the memories of their past. He looked over to Anders, who was keeping a respectful silence for the girls. Trying to lift the uncomfortable quiet, he chuckled to Anders, "I guess that makes us the common folk."

"Speak for yourself, old friend." Anders grinned back.

"What?" Elise's head snapped up to look at Anders with a scathing eye. "What exactly do you mean by that?" She was half expecting some self flattering comment from him about how wonderful he was and that he was anything but common. She was almost hopping for this type of comment from him to find some flaw in his character. What she got was a response came out of left field that took her by surprise.

"My great uncle was the King of Sweden." He said matter of factly.

"What?" Both Anne and Elise looked at him incredulously. Even Chris did a double take.

"I don't like to advertise it, but it's true. Since we're sharing historical family secrets..." Anders smiled genuinely to Elise. "I decided a long time ago that when I started my company I wanted to earn what got and not have it given to me because of some status I inherited. So I've done my best to keep it quiet. There's enough media watching me for what I have done and what I'm doing. I don't need any more scrutiny based on someone else's conceptions of what descendants of royalty should be like. Just like you, Elise, I have no claim to any throne and I have no interest in it. I suppose if I argued the point I could get some title or another bestowed on me, but I don't really care. I'm too far removed for it to be of any consequence." He chuckled. "I'm the owner and CEO of a huge corporation. I don't need to be king."

"You already are." Chris laughed.

"Did you know?" Anne looked at Chris.

Chris just shook his head. "No, but somehow it doesn't surprise me." He glanced at Elise, who was still looking surprised at this revelation until she caught Chris's glance.

Anne saw it too. "What are you thinking, Elise? You have funny look on your face."

"I was just thinking about family connections. You just never know who's connected to who or how. For all we know Chris could be our cousin." She gave Chris a subtle smirk. "Maybe we should dig a little deeper into family histories."

"Wouldn't that be terrible." Anne looked to Chris briefly before dismissing the thought.

"Well, on that note..." Chris stood and reached out a hand for Anne. "Anne and I do have dinner plans now that all the dust has settled. If you still want to go? It's been a busy day."

"Oh. Yes. Sorry, I'd forgotten. I'd love to. It might help to unwind a little." Anne took his hand and stood.

Elise got up with them. She turned first to her sister and hugged her. "I know I've been very distant with you. I'm sorry. I'll try harder. I promise."

"Maybe I should bake you some cookies." Anne smirked at her.

Elise looked hard into her sisters eyes. She missed those eyes. She missed her sister. It seemed like so long since the two of them spent any quality time together. "How 'bout we do it together?"

"I'd like that." Anne grinned back.

Elise let go of her sister and hugged Chris as well, before they left.


	20. Chapter 20

**Ch. 20 Dinner with friends and enemies.**

Elise was looking in the mirror by the front door to her apartment, fixing hair, when there was a soft knock. She opened the door to find Anne standing there, dressed to go out in her brown leather coat and jeans.

"Hey, Chris and I were just going out to dinner to meet some of his friends and wondered if you wanted to join us." She eyed Elise up and down. "But it looks like you've already got plans. Where are you going?" Anne asked admiring her. Elise was wearing a rather attractive shimmering black strapless dress that not so subtly showed of her figure. A silver necklace circled her neck and her hair was tied up in the back in an impressive weave.

"Anders asked me out for dinner, if you must know."

Anne got a surprised look. "Elise?" She grinned. "Come on, I'm your sister. Let's have some details."

"It's not like that." Elise defended herself. She continued fixing her hair in the mirror.

"Oh, not yet." Anne teased. "But I'm sure it will be." She giggled again following Elise back into her apartment.

"Anne!" Elise began to blush.

"Oh sweetheart, you can't fool me. You LIKE him!" She laughed. "Admit it sis. And he likes you too."

"Oh stop it!" Elise was now fully red faced as she smiled back at her sister. "It's just a business dinner. We're discussing some of the details to get Elan back on track."

"Oh, it's a _business dinner._ " Anne replied mockingly. "And who else is going to be there?"

Sheepishly, Elise admitted, "No one. Just us." She tried to hide a smile.

"I see. Just an ordinary romantic business dinner." Anne laughed again.

"Stop it." Elise couldn't help but look embarrassed and smiled back. "I'm serious, it's not like that."

Anne came over and put her arms around her sister's waist from behind and looked at her through the mirror. "Sorry, but it's not often I get to tease my big sister. I have to make the most of it." She smiled and looked into Elise's eyes. "You know I love you. And Anders is a nice guy. If you decide...well, you know. I'll support you."

"Thank you." Elise smiled back. "I do like him." She admitted with a guilty grin. "But, I know I'm not ready for something like that. Not for a while. I need to clear out the mess of Hans from my head and my heart. For now, I think I just need friend. Someone to talk to who understands business as well as...life. Maybe sometime down the line I might reconsider if if Anders will wait...maybe then. But not now." She sighed and smiled at her sister. "The waiting will give us time to get to know each other first."

"Tell him." Anne replied.

"Tell him what?" Elise looked incredulously at her sister. They'd only just met and Anne was already playing matchmaker. She still felt embarrassed for breaking down in front of him at the cabin.

"What you just told me. I'm sure he'll wait. And if he doesn't, he wasn't right for you anyway." Anne smiled and kissed her sister on the cheek before letting go. She stood back to admire Elise in her dress. "Besides, as gorgeous as you look right now, I don't think he'll be able to take his eyes off you. Or his mind. He'll be thinking of only you for the next year." She winked. "You're a terrible tease. You know that?"

Elise let out a quiet somber laugh. "Maybe. I don't mean to be. In some ways, it would be easier with him." Elise stared at the floor contemplating the possibilities. "I know he's not after my money. He's got way more than both of us. He's not after my company, my title or any royal connections because he's got his own."

"I guess that just leaves your body." Anne teased.

Elise blushed again. "Stop it Anne." She looked up again at her sister and smiled. Elise reached out and took her sisters hand in her own just as Anne turned to go. Her smile faded slightly as their eyes met. "Thank you Anne. For everything."

"You're welcome." Anne whispered back.

"I love you." Elise added, letting go.

Anne smiled back and blew her sister a kiss as she left and closed the door. She stood in the hallway for a moment and smiled to herself.

The door to her own room opened suddenly behind her and Chris was there. "Hey. What are you doing out here?"

Anne smiled up at him. "Just taking a little time to enjoy the moment. Are you ready to go?"

Chris held out a hand. She took it and they headed for the elevator and the underground parking garage.

* * *

Chris held Anne's hand as they stepped through the door of the pub. He glanced around until he saw Jeff coming over to meet them from a table along the side.

"Holy cats of Cleopatra! Christopher, what wilderness did you find this amazing specimen in, and are there any more?" Jeff made an exaggerated sweeping bow. "My lovely lady, please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Jeffery Mcculoch. Born and bread in the brave new world of California, but my ancestry hales back to the clans of Mcculoch of the Scottish highlands along the shores of Loch Shieldaig. I am at your every whim and beckon call." He took Anne's hand in his own and kissed it before looking up. "Do you have any whims that I could attend to?"

Anne couldn't help grinning. "Not at the moment, I'm sorry."

"Hands off, you dirty old man?" Chris chided him

"Who are you calling dirty?" He retorted.

"You. Ya bum, you probably haven't showered in weeks." Chris teased.

"I'm environmentally conscious. I'm conserving water. Besides, I'm showering tonight. Maybe you can help me?" He looked to Anne. "There's one spot on my back I just can't seem to reach in the shower." He twisted his arm behind his head to demonstrate.

"Why don't you ask Dave? I'm sure he'd be glad to help." Chris shot back.

"Yuck. Too hairy. Have you seen him without a shirt? And the accent. There's something wrong about a guy who looks like a black bear and talks like the Queen of England." Jeff shuddered.

"I don't know," Anne cut in, "a bear with etiquette might be nice." She looked up as if to ponder the possibilities. "Strong enough to protect you, warm and cuddly at night, and the courtesy and politeness typical of the British realm. Could be just what a girl wants." She winked at Jeff giving him a sly smile while twirling her hair around her finger and then flipping it flirtatiously over her shoulder.

Jeff just stared at her for a moment before a grin spread across his face. "I really like you. I know I'm old enough to be your father but.."

"Grandfather!" Chris cut in.

"I know we we could make it work. I could worship the ground you walk on."

"It'd never work, Jeff." Chris cut in again. "You can't stand champagne."

"I could pretend..." Jeff replied.

"I don't know if I could date a man with hair longer than myself." Anne made a show of considering the possibilities as she reached out and gently pulled on his long grey ponytail. "I'm sorry Jeff, you're just too handsome for me." She placed a hand under his chin and blew him a soft kiss.

"Bloody hell Chris! If you ever get board of her, give me a call." Jeff turned back to Anne. "Do you have sister?"

"Why yes. I have an older sister." Anne teased.

"What' she look like?" Jeff eyed her.

"Well, she looks a bit like me," Anne twirled her hair pouring it on thick, "only a little taller. She's got long blond hair and she's the CEO of our corporation."

"Oh, mercy. Don't tease me like that. I'm old. I got a thing for blondes. I can't handle it." Jeff grabbed onto Chris's shoulder feigning a heart attack.

"She's not kidding my friend. I've met her sister." Chris reassured him.

"And..."

"Tall, blond, beautiful and powerful. Used to be a model." Chris returned. "More than you could handle."

"Ahhh, such is life." Jeff sighed. "Always in the wrong place at the wrong time. Maybe you could console a poor old man over a few drinks."

"That I can do." Anne reassured him. "Since I'm the new girl, first round is on me."

"I really really like you." Jeff teased.

Anne just laughed at him.

"But my apologies lass, you get second round. First is mine. Didn't the lad explain that to you?"

"Ah, no." She looked questioningly at Chris.

Chris looked a little awkward. "Sorry Anne, there's more to this little shindig than I've had time to explain." Chris pulled out a chair for her as they approached the table but they remained standing as they made introductions for Anne to Janice and Juan.

Janice was close to Anne's age. She was a slim and wiry Irish girl with short black hair, black eye makeup, and a number of tattoos all over, but she didn't quite have that tough look that she seemed to be going for, Anne noted. Her face was too cute. But she had a wicked razor sharp sense of humour that bordered on sarcastic that caught Anne off guard several times.

Juan was almost the complete opposite. He was a quiet mid forties Argentinean man. He had his own quiet sense of humour but he was very polite, and as Anne discovered, very well spoken. When introduced, he recognized Anne and bowed to her. "Miss Brekke of Elan Enterprises? It's an honour. I've worked in several locals around the world that have benefited from your charity work. It's a pleasure to finally meet you. My father once told me he had the pleasure of meeting your father at a global humanitarian outreach conference. He was very impressed with him."

"Thank you Juan. The pleasure is mine. So what are we doing here? What's happening?" Anne asked.

"It's a tribute, my beautiful lass. A tribute to a fallen comrade." Jeff replied. "But don't worry, it's not as depressing as it sounds. Come...sit by me and I'll tell you our tale of woe." He pulled Anne into a chair between himself and Janice.

Juan flagged the waitress down and Anne was surprised and impressed to hear him speak fluid Norwegian as he ordered drinks. His accent was perfect. He must have studied linguistics, she surmised.

"The four of us," Jeff started, looking around the table, "we're put together as a research team along with one other. Emilio Constinello. He was our team leader. Brilliant man. He was one of those types that was good at everything he did and he knew it. He also knew when to use that to his advantage and when not to. He could be an annoying bastard at times." Jeff chuckled. "He was always right. About everything. It was sickening how right he was all the time. You couldn't argue with him 'cause you always knew you were wrong. I have no doubt in my mind that he would have eventually become the head of our research foundation."

Jeff paused as the waitress returned with a round of drinks for everyone. She placed a glass with ice and some clear liqueur in front of everyone.

Jeff continued when the waitress left. "Anyways we were working in the Middle East. It was a mess of red tape to get in. You couldn't take a shit without filling out the proper government forms and bribing the right people. It was ridiculous."

"We'd been there over a month and Emilio had gotten everything working smoothly with all the local officials. But somewhere in there we began to see that the environmental issues we were researching were being caused by a government backed manufacturing company that had ties with various militant groups. One day Emilio comes rushing in and hands me an envelope with all our research results and basically says "Run. They're coming for us." We took off thinking he was behind us. Instead, he stayed behind to stall for time so we could get out. He bought us fifteen minutes that saved our lives and cost him his. For that, we make it a point, wherever we are on that day to have a drink in honour of him."

Anne could tell there was a lot more to this story. She had a barrage of questions forming in her mind. She suddenly wanted details. She wanted to know what country they were in and what the environmental issue was. She turned and looked at Chris and could see a touch of sadness in his eyes and realized now wasn't the time for questions.

"It was Janice and my first assignment." Chris stated.

Anne turned to Janice. She held her glass up to Anne. They all picked up there glasses.

Anne did likewise. "Can I ask?" She sniffed her drink.

"Zhumir." Juan responded.

Anne had never heard of it. But that wasn't surprising. She grew up in a different part of the world in a different culture and hard liquor wasn't exactly part of her upbringing.

Jeff piped in, "Liquid Ecuadorian fire, sweetened to perfection." He paused before adding to no one in particular, "To you my Ecuadorian friend, wherever you are. Thank you."

They all murmured "thank you's" clinked glasses and drank.

Anne followed. "Sweet fire" was no exaggeration. The drink burned all the way to her stomach and almost made her sick.

Jeff handed her a class of water. "Go ahead. It's pretty strong stuff."

Anne gulped the water and noted Juan, Janice and Chris doing the same. Jeff however seemed to be enjoying it.

"Now perhaps some food before we all pass out." Juan gasped with a chuckle. The others muttered in agreement.

Supper went smoothly. Anne found she really enjoyed Chris's friends. They all got along so well together and were a diverse entertaining bunch. Anne even managed to weasel a few embarrassing stories about Chris out of them.

What surprised Anne the most was Janice. Janice could talk circles around everyone until you didn't know what you were talking about. She was really quick minded and sharp. Couple that with her razor wit and a thick Irish accent, she was the life of the party. Anne never would have pegged Janice to be someone she'd feel a connection to but throughout the evening Anne felt a bond between them and she sensed Janice did too.

That bond grew considerably when Anne got up and excused herself to go to the rest room. Janice got up and joined her, taking Anne's arm as they left. She winked and smiled at Chris as she walked away. After a brief stop in the ladies room Janice dragged Anne out the back of the pub, through a set of double doors that were propped open, for a little fresh air and some quieter conversation.

Although it was an ally, it was clean and well lit. There were a few plastic patio chairs scattered about, against the buildings. It was obviously a common thing here for people to come outside and socialize and get a break from the noise.

A little ways off a couple other guys were having a smoke. The girls ignored them and they seemed to do likewise. Further down she could see a few other restaurant patrons enjoying the fresh air.

"So, what do you think of our little gang?" Janice asked.

"I like it. You're a very diverse group, but you all get along so well. Do you always work together?"

"No. Actually we haven't all worked together since Emilio was killed. Off and on a couple of us might get assigned together, but they don't make permanent teams. We get assigned based on locations, necessity, our skills and specialties." She was quiet for a minute enjoying the night air. "I like that you travel around to research what you invest in. It's smart business and ethical. Not many do that." Janice smiled.

"Thanks. I like what we do. I like being able to help and make a difference by what we do." Anne smiled back. "I guess I'm really just trying to carry on where my parents left off. They set the example."

"Well you've helped Chris and made quite a difference in him. I don't think I've seen him this happy since I first met him. You're good for him."

Anne shrugged innocently and smiled. "Thank you. How long have you been doing this?"

"Nine years. It was nine years ago we lost Emilio."

"I'm sorry." Anne back stepped.

"It's okay. I don't mind. Janice's smile faded suddenly. "Damn."

"What?" Anne looked concerned.

"Trouble." Janice nodded over her shoulder.

Anne turned around to see the two smokers approaching. "Evening ladies." The first one spoke. He wore a faded old black T shirt and had tattoos all over his arms, hands and neck. He had greasy black hair and smelled like he hadn't bathed in months. Anne just about choked when he came close. "Girls look'n for a good time? My pal and me could show you things you've never seen." His pal, in a green shirt and shaved head, sidled around but lingered just behind.

"No thanks." Janice replied coldly and turned to ignore them both.

"Aww come on baby. Have a little fun. You and your friend here," he eyed Anne up and down several times and Anne could feel him mentally undressing them both, "we could make it interesting. What do you say?" He stepped closer. His breath reeked of booze and something else. Whatever they'd been smoking wasn't cigarettes. It smelled disgusting.

"Thank you but we're not interested." Janice replied. "If you don't mind we'd like to be alone." She eyed Anne carefully and flicked her eyes up to the left.

Anne was starting to panic but caught the subtle hint. Up where Janice had indicated was a security camera.

"Come on now," he pushed. "That's not being friendly." He grabbed onto Anne's wrist. "I think you should come with us."

"Let go of me please." Anne demanded. When he refused, Anne did a quick twist of her arm breaking his hold and quickly backed away.

Black shirt guy just sneered at her. "Come on baby..." he tried again.

Janice moved in front of Anne blocking his advance. She waited until he grabbed her with both hands. "No, I don't think so." She spoke firmly and made a quick moment of her arms, breaking his hold and stepped into him with a shove that sent him stumbling backwards.

Anne took the distraction and waved to the camera for help.

"Hey now! That was uncalled for." The green shirt guy stepped in to grab Janice. He was stumbling and obviously drunk. He managed to grip one of Janice's arms for almost a second before she side stepped his advance and made another quick movement with her arms, that Anne didn't quite follow, and sent the man sprawling to the ground.

Anne's level of fear began to subside a little as she noticed that Janice was completely calm and showed no fear on her face. She began to smile at Janice when two arms wrapped around her from behind. Black shirt guy was holding her, pining her arms behind her back. He yelled something unintelligible at them both. The only words Anne could make out though her panic was "bitch" and something about their parentage that she didn't want to repeat.

His hot smelly breath was all over her neck. It was gross.

"What are you gonna do now?" Black shirt Guy demanded. "I've got your little friend. She's prettier anyway." He sneered.

Janice just looked calmly at him like he was an idiot. Because he was. "I don't need to do anything." She replied calmly.

He stared dumbly at her.

Anne suddenly felt the guy let go. She rushed forward to Janice and turned around. Black shirt guy was being held in a head lock by a large man in restaurant uniform. A second man moved in to subdue green shirt guy while a third stood by to offer any assistance needed. As he turned, Anne saw the word _Security_ written on the front left corner of his shirt. _Pub bouncer_ was probably more accurate, Anne thought, but she wasn't about to argue with her rescuers.

When the two offenders were dragged off, the third security man turned to the girls. Anne was shaking. Janice put an arm around her to steady her.

"You girls alright?" The security man asked.

"Yeah. I think we're good. Thanks." Janice replied.

"No ones hurt?" He inquired

"Maybe a touch shaken," Janice looked to Anne, "give us a minute to catch our breath and I think we'll be fine." She smiled back at the man. "Thank you."

"Security caught you on video." He pointed up to a camera overhead. "My apologies for being slow to get here. The boys and I will clean up the mess." He nodded to the two men being dragged off and then continued. "Please," he motioned to the door, "Stay, dinner and drinks are on the house."

"Thank you." Anne smiled and tried to calm herself as she headed in. She was shaking. Her heart was pounding. Her brain was still trying to process what just happened. She didn't know if she wanted run, cry, scream or just pass out on the floor. Nothing like this had ever happened to her before. Once inside, she turned to Janice to distract herself. "Where'd you learn self defence like that? I don't think your heart rate changed once through the whole thing."

Janice smiled. "If it makes you feel better, I was screaming profanities in my head the whole time." She chuckled. "I took some martial arts and self defence training after Emilio died. That assignment kind of spooked me. I almost quit after that job." She turned to Anne. "Are you okay? You look a little pale." She reached out and took Anne's shaking hand in her own.

"I'll be fine. I'm sorry," Anne interjected, "it must have been a terrible experience." She tried to keep the conversation going to distract herself from her pounding heart and the adrenalin coursing through her. She did her best to calm her breathing.

"Yes and no. A lot of good came out of it though." Janice eyed Anne carefully. "The four of us became really good friends. The foundation also made a lot of policy changes to protect us on future trips, but for me, I found a new confidence in myself. A new kind of independence."

"How so?" In spite of her shakiness, Anne was intrigued. Anyone who could go through hell and come out with such a positive attitude about it all was fascinating to her and worth her time.

"I spent many nights on that assignment frightened beyond anything. A lot of scary shit went on. Being my first assignment, I was a basket case. If not for Chris, I never would have gotten through it. I spent many nights sacred and crying in his arms." She looked contemplative as if remembering. "He took care of me. Made me feel safe. Leant me a shoulder to cry on." She turned to look Anne in the eyes. "And not once did he ever try to take advantage of the situation between us. For that reason alone, I love him. He's like a big brother to me. That's why it makes me so happy to see the smile you've put on his face." She smiled to Anne.

Anne felt herself blush just a little and looked away.

"Anyways, after that trip, I vowed never to feel so helpless again. I began learning to take care of myself. Self defence and other things."

"Other things?" Anne tried to joke but it came out weak. She was still uneasy. Still shaky.

"I'm pretty good with a knife." Janice grinned.

That response came out of left field for Anne. She had a hard time visualizing this cute faced Irish girl in a knife fight. But then again, after what she'd just witnessed in the alley maybe it want so hard.

"Anyways, The training gave me confidence in myself." Janice continued. "Taught me to stay calm and deal with the situation at hand. I'm not a scared little girl anymore. I know I can handle most situations now. I know when to step in and when to run." She smiled back at Anne. "And you? You obviously know a little as well."

Anne chuckled to herself trying to act calm. "Hardly. I took an office workers self defence class in university, years ago. Until now, I've never used it. To be honest, I'm surprised I remembered it or that it even worked. I'm still shaking." She held out her shaking hands.

Janice took them in her own hands to steady her. "You did well luv. You did real well. You stayed calm in a bad situation. That's more than most people can do." She spoke seriously. Seeing the emotion in Anne's eyes building, Janice gently pulled her into a hug. "It'll be okay. You'll be okay. It's just the adrenaline wearing off. Take a deep breath. Then another and clear your mind." Janice stepped back and held her hands as they breathed deep together. "Now focus, and picture that hunk of a stud Chris with no shirt on."

Anne burst out laughing. "I like the way you think Janice."

"Me too. I'm rather fond of myself." She joked.

"I'm rather fond of you too. Thank you. For everything."

"Oh and one more thing. If you hurt Chris, I'll kick your ass!" She smirked at Anne.

"If I hurt Chris, I'll deserve it!" Anne laughed and took Janice's arm. She felt the shaking begin to subside as her heart rate slowed. She realized then the misleading image Janice had. The wannabe tough look with the cute face was a distraction. She was tough, but at the same time, Anne discovered, also very caring.

They wove their way back through the crowded pup back to their table where the guys were waiting.

"Where've you two been?" Jeff scolded. "Do you know know how long I've had to sit and drink staring at these two ugly mugs?" He pointed to Chris and Juan with his bottle.

Janice put an arm around Jeff's neck. "Oh you know, luv, got lost in the ladies room, started a rumble in the alley, the usual girly stuff." She kissed Jeff on the cheek and winked to Anne before sitting.

"Women!" Jeff huffed.

Anne sidled up to Chris on the chair next to him. She gave him a hug and kissed his cheek.

"You okay?" He asked noting a bit more colour in her than usual.

"Yes. I'll be just fine now." She looked across the table to see Janice smiling at her and winked back.

Janice raised her class in salute.

Chris caught the gesture. Grinning, he turned to Anne raising a questioning eyebrow. "Rumble in the alley? Are you sure you're a princess?"


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21. Home to the future.**

Following their night out, Elise, Anne and Chris decide they needed to escape the media circus that had camped out in front of the Ice Palace. Most reporters had got their news and respectfully left, but a few were rather persistent and wouldn't leave, hoping to catch that one shot that would make them famous in the tabloids for the day. In spite of her own advice, Anne was dreading what might pop up in the tabloids after the alley incident with Janice. There seemed to be no limit to the resourcefulness of these photographers. Fortunately nothing had turned up yet. Their pilot, Jan, was more than happy to fly them back to their house near Arendal to escape. All three took advantage of the peace and quiet to rest that day.

Chris awoke early the following morning and found Elsie getting ready to leave. She had to return to Oslo. She still had a company to run.

Anne was still asleep so after making breakfast for Elise and himself, and at Elise's prompting, Chris found himself in the study looking through books and photo albums in search of anything on their family history. There was a question gnawing on the back of his mind that he needed answers to. After looking at a few books he found some photo albums that looked more promising. Most were just typical family albums but one photo in the third book he picked up caught his attention. Chris immediately got up and headed down the hall with it.

"Hey, Elise, do you have a minute?" Chris stuck his head into her door as she was getting ready to leave for work.

"Yeah. Sure, but I've got a meeting in Oslo in a couple hours so I need to leave soon. Jan will be here any minute to pick me up." She put her brush down and turned to face him noticing the concerned look on him for the first time. "Everything okay?"

"I've been looking through some of your old photo albums and wanted to ask you about someone. Do you know who this is?" Chris held up the album he'd found in the study.

Elise took the album and looked carefully at it. The photo showed Elise's grandmother Annika, and her father, Jarl when he was probably around seven or eight years of age. Chris pointed to one of several other people standing close by and posing for the photo.

"No, but I've seen his picture in here a few times." She flipped pages and stopped at another one. This one showed the same man posing together with Annika and Jarl on board a ship somewhere. Elsie looked up and saw the concern deepen on Chris's face.

"You _know_ who it is, don't you?" The light suddenly came on in her head. "Oh Chris, that's not..." She let out a small gasp.

Chris nodded. "As I said before, I never met him. He died before I was born, but I've seen his picture hanging on my parents wall." He stared hard at the picture again. "That is my grandfather. Tom."

"Oh Chris, I'm so sorry for teasing you about the cousins thing. I never thought it might actually be possible that we could be related. I assumed it was just an odd coincidence. But these photos? They obviously knew each other and they were close." She stared harder at the photo. Tom, Annika and Jarl looked like a happy family standing together. She flipped several more pages and found another photo of the three of them together. Tom was sitting on a couch laughing with Annika in his lap and Jarl in hers. "I don't know what to think about this. I'm stunned. I've seen some of these pictures before, but I never really paid much attention to them. It's almost as though my grandmother had another life that she kept a secret."

"Did your grandmother ever marry or have any other relationships after your father was born."

"No. Not to my knowledge." Elise replied.

"And your father didn't have any other siblings that you're aware of?"

"No. My father was an only child." She looked up at Chris. "As far as I know." She added. "Do you know when your grandfather moved to Canada and why?" Chris shook his head. "I think it's time you spoke to your mother and find out some family history."

Chris nodded and checked his watch. "It'll be early morning there in a few hours. I'll try to call then."

Elise looked closer at him. She could see the anxiety building in him. "Hey," she put a hand on his arm. "I'm sure there's simple explanation, some ironic coincidence or something. I'm sure we're not related."

"How do you know?"

"Have you ever tried my cooking?" Elise raised an eyebrow at him. "If you did, you'd know." Elise gave him a smirk.

Chris laughed it off. "Thank you Elise."

"Have you told Anne yet?"

"No. I don't know what to say to her. _Sorry Anne but our relationship might be over because we might be related?_ If it's true, we'll deal with it then. If not, I don't want to put that on her unnecessarily."

Elise smiled softly at him. "You're so good to her. Promise you'll call me if you find out anything."

"Sure."

Chris went back to the study and sat down with the album. He couldn't wait. He pulled out his phone and snapped pictures of the photos with his grandfather and attached them to an email to his mother explaining about Anne and the situation.

Later that day he got a response back from his mother that read;

 _Out fishing along the Queen Charlottes. Weather was terrible yesterday but we spotted a few humpbacks cruising along that made up for it. Got our clients excited. We'll be home in three days. I have some of your grandparents correspondence and photos in storage. I'll check into it when I get home. I'm happy you found someone. It's about time! Your sister was beginning to wonder about you when you didn't come home after the conference._

 _Come home soon and bring Anne too._

 _Love you,_

 _Mom_

* * *

It had been almost a week since the Hans-Madaline incident and Chris hadn't heard anything from his mother. He and Anne spent most of it at her house in Arendal staying away from the media. Elise had been spending her days in Oslo to sort out the the company ownership with Anders but somehow managed to fly home most nights for Chris's cooking and to spend some time with them. He was relieved to find out from Elise that by next Monday, ownership of Elan would be back in the hands of Anne and herself.

Chris found he was really starting to enjoy the time with the girls. Elise seemed to have made a strong effort to change and be more positive. Chris found that he actually enjoyed spending time with her and they had some fantastic conversations together. Being the only other person who knew about the potential family connection, Elise also become someone for Chris to talk to regarding that matter. She had a way of making Chris relax and feel better about the situation. He was surprised at how supportive she was.

The only down side in the three of them being together all week was that the sisters, in an effort to rekindle their sisterly bond, decided to bake cookies together as they did when they were children. Every night! Chris didn't have the heart to tell them how terrible their baking was, and was therefore subjected to all manner of stomach wrenching concoctions presented in the name of cookies. It was a small price to pay, he concluded. But Elise's comment about her bad cooking came back to him with each bite. It made him smile. He wondered if she was doing it on purpose.

He had also gotten an email from Margaret that week, confirming that they finally had a job being lined up in about three to four weeks. The exact date was still being sorted out. It concerned Chris, wondering how this was going to work out with Anne. When he brought it up, she just smiled at him and said "It'll be okay. I travel too. In time, we may need to change our work life, but for now, enjoy it. I'll still be here when you get back. I'm not going anywhere without you." She had a way of making him feel good inside.

It was a sunny mid afternoon on Friday and Anne was taking a nap so Chris decided to go for a walk. He wandered lazily down the country road passing a farm that Anne had told him belonged to their neighbour Einar. The road came up a small rise as it approached the river and Chris found a bench placed to the side where one could sit down to enjoy the view of the countryside. It was odd to find a bench here on the side of the road, but it was a perfect location looking down from the top of the rise towards the river.

Chris had been sitting for maybe twenty minutes enjoying the sunshine and the breeze when he spotted an older man slowly coming across the bridge on foot. Chris watched as the old man made his way up the rise to where he was sitting and then sat down beside Chris, as if the bench had been his destination.

"Hello." Chris offered politely. The man's hair was white and he wore a light blue shirt with no tie and black trousers. He carried a cane in his right hand.

"Good afternoon." The old man spoke English with a thick accent. "Lovely view here isn't it." Chris nodded. "I like to come here every so often and sit, just like you. The world just moves a little too quick sometimes. An old man like me just needs to catch his breath now and again."

Chris smiled back. "You can miss so much in the blink of an eye."

"Isn't that the truth." The man concurred.

"Do you live around her?" Chris inquired. He wondered where this old man had appeared from.

"I got a small place just over the river there." He pointed across the Nidelva with his cane to where the road disappeared into the trees on some rolling hills. "I was just on my way to pay a visit to some friends." He looked up at Chris. "And you? Obviously not from around here."

Chris smiled, "No, just visiting some friends too."

The old man nodded. "You must be Chris."

Chris looked at him surprised.

The old man stared back, raising an eyebrow. "Didn't know you were so famous, did you?" He chuckled. "It's alright lad. My names Per. Pleasure to finally meet you. The girls have told me so much about you." He held out a hand.

Chris chuckled and took the hand, shaking it with a bit of a dazed expression on his face. "Likewise, I've heard a little about you two. Both girls speak very highly of you." Chris wondered at the man's age. He would have guessed mid seventies.

"Ah well, they're kind of like my own daughters." He smiled contemplatively.

"Anne told me you took care of her and Elise after their parents died."

"Yes I suppose that's true. The truth of it is that we kind of took care of each other. A few months before Jarl and Katrine died, I lost my wife and little girl too. So, it was only natural for me and the girls to be together. We needed each other. I guess it helped us both with our grieving."

"Can I ask, if it's okay...how did their parents die?" Chris carefully inquired.

"You can ask. I don't mind." Per looked thoughtful for a moment. "It happened mid winter. I was looking after the girls while Jarl and Katrine were out one evening. After supper, Elise went out to shovel snow on the porch. I opened the door to take out the garbage when the dog, Young Stray, ran out. Young Stray was the dog Elise had given Anne after Old Stray died. Anne named them both Stray for some odd reason. You'll have to ask her about that one."

Chris suddenly clued into Elise's teasing over the past couple weeks, calling him stray.

Per smiled to himself. "Anyways, Young Stray took off down the road and Elise went after him, trying to call him back. She got pretty close to the river when the dog ran out across the bridge at the same time a car was approaching from the other side."

Per paused again looking down at the road. "Well, it was dark, the roads were icy and the people in the car didn't see Young Stray until it was too late, but they tried anyway to swerve and miss him. Unfortunately, in doing so, they skidded off the road just before the bridge and rolled into the frozen river. The last thing that poor little girl saw was her own mothers face, screaming behind the window as she plunged to her death in the frozen water. I can't even begin to imagine what that kind of nightmare does to a little girl."

Chris almost felt sick to his stomach. He was glad he hadn't asked Anne or Elise to tell this story. He couldn't imagine what it must have been like for Elise to witness her own parents death. Add to that, the fact that it was Young Stray who caused the accident, and Young Stray was the dog Elise had gotten for Anne. He had no doubt that as a child, Elise had probably felt somehow responsible even though it wasn't her fault.

"Anyways, I worked for the Brekke's, and they were close friends so naturally I stepped in to care for the girls. It was good for both of us.

"God, I'm so sorry. I knew they had died in a car accident but..." Chris trailed off not knowing what to say. He had wanted to ask about Per's family but wasn't sure if it was appropriate or if it would be just as horrific. Maybe just a little too personal of a story to ask about.

Per patted him on the knee. "It's alright. It was a long time ago. I put this bench here because of that. Maybe it's strange to some, to come and sit here and view the place where they died, but I've always found it peaceful. The view here is nice and I like to sit and think. It's also a mid point between our houses for an old man to rest." He smiled and was quiet for a minute before he looked back at Chris. "Anne tells me you helped them get their company back."

Chris just shrugged.

"I wanted to thank you for that. I don't know if you understand how much that company means to them. I watched those two girls nearly work themselves into an early grave to get that company started and keep it going. It's everything to them. I'm very proud of what they've accomplished together."

"I enjoyed helping." Chris replied. "I enjoy watching Anne and seeing how she perceives the world. It's not really naivety its...I don't know. She works so hard to make things better for everyone else."

Per smiled. "Anne's a sweet little thing. She sees the world as it is, but also as it could be and does what she can to bring the two together. She envisions the type of world she wants to live in and tries to make it happen."

"And Elise?" Chris probed.

"Elise was the one that taught her to be so sweet and caring. She was so much like her mother. Sadly the accident changed her. She closed herself off. She became somewhat cold and cynical. I suppose a person can't blame her after what she witnessed. That two bit thief, Hans, didn't help much either. I'm glad he's gone. But I heard a rumour Elise has turned over a new leaf and is trying to change." He eyed Chris. "I don't suppose you had anything to do with that?"

Chris let out a humorous sigh. "I don't think I did anything directly. Cooked her a few good meals maybe..."

"Ahhh, so you did find the secret way into her heart." Per chuckled. "When she was younger, I used to cook her little special things to cheer her up when she was feeling down. It always seemed to work. You are good for both of those girls, do you know that? I don't suppose you have a twin for Elise do you?" He grinned.

"Actually I do have a twin." Chris offered smuggly. Per's eyes widened in surprise. "But I don't think it would work with Elise."

"Why not?"

Chris just gave him a deadpan look. "Because my sisters already married."

Per laughed at that one. "Ahh, speaking of beautiful Princesses." Per and Chris looked up to see Elise walking towards them. Both stood to greet her. She looked beautiful in the sunshine, wearing a summer dress and sandals. Chris couldn't remember her ever looking so relaxed.

"Anne told me you were coming over so I thought I'd come and meet you." She pulled Per into a long warm hug, kissing his cheek. Her eyes closed and Chris saw the smile on her face as she did.

"I didn't realize you had come too." Elise looked to Chris as she released the old man.

"It was more of an accident that we met." Chris replied. "I just came for a walk and happened to meet up with Per."

"Well, I'm glad." Elise smiled. "It looked like you were having a good conversation together. Dare I ask what you were talking about?" She smirked at Per.

"Just discussing what to make you for supper." Per teased back.

"You two just met and you're already conspiring against me. Shame on you both." Elise laughed. "And just what are you going to make?"

Per cut in right away, before Chris could respond, in a parent like tone of discipline. "Well, the first thing, young lady, we are going to make you eat those words."

Elise laughed. "I hope so." She moved in between them, linking her arms in theirs and they began walking together.

As they walked, it dawned on Chris that Elise, Anne, and now even Per, had always spoken English when he was around. Even when they were talking to each other. They never excluded him by speaking their native tongue. It was a courtesy that had gone unnoticed by him and he felt embarrassed by that. But at the same time he felt a warm affection for them all, for trying to make him feel welcome. He had tried to start learning Norwegian but it had fallen by the wayside after the mugging. He made a vow to himself to return that courtesy by learning their language.

Anne was waiting at the house when they returned and Per walked over to greet her. Chris turned to Elise. "I got an email back from my mother today."

"And?" Elise all but demanded.

Chris pulled several folded pages from his pocket and handed it to her. Elise started to unfold it when her cell phone went off. She pulled her phone out and looked at it. "Damn. It's the office. Their timing always so perfect. Sorry, I have to take this call." She folded the pages back up, slipped them into her pocket and walked off answering her phone.


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22. Following new paths.**

After a very sumptuous dinner, that was a combination effort between Chris and Per, Chris and the girls walked Per back down the road, part way to his home. When they returned, Chris and Anne decide to go for a walk down to the river while Elise opted to head back to the house.

Instead of heading in, Elise sat out on the porch enjoying the warm evening sunset. Across the field she watched her sister walking with Chris. They had asked if she wanted to join them but she had a lot on her mind and wanted some time alone. She was still filled with mixed thoughts and emotions. She was still feeling tired from the past couple weeks. Losing her company, getting it back, being betrayed by the man she thought she loved and finding out that the man she thought was an enemy was actually a friend was an emotional roller coaster that she found she hadn't fully recovered from.

Good cooking and good food always helped. That was one thing she really appreciated about Chris. He had a willingness to serve others simply because he enjoyed it. That's probably why he got along so well with Anne. Even Per approved of Chris and he was a hard one to please. Watching the two of them cook together in the kitchen tonight was entertaining. Chris and Per had hit it off quite well and established a fun bantering rapport that everyone found amusing. In Elise's memory, Per had never really approved of any of their boyfriends, even though he'd never say it. He was too kind to say something like that, but Elise could always tell. Their kitchen hadn't seen that much laughter in a very long time.

Elsie thought about Chris and toyed with the idea of what it would have been like if she had met him first instead of Anne. She dismissed the thought though. She liked Chris, but he wasn't her type. It would never have worked out. But those thoughts led her to someone else. Anders Harlson. That name stirred up so much in her. She found that she still felt a lingering false sense of anger for who she thought he had been and what she thought he had done, even though it all turned out to be not true. It was hard letting go of things but she was trying and she felt guilty for still having those lingering feelings. Surprisingly, Anne had encouraged her to pursue the possibilities of dating with Anders in the future, when she felt ready. She wasn't, of course, but it didn't stop her from considering it.

Anne and her had had a very good conversation about life, love, and relationships the other night and she was impressed with her younger sisters insights.

 _"How do you know you're in love with Chris?" Elise asked a little skeptically . "When did you know?"_

 _Anne smiled thoughtfully at her sister. "I'd like to say when I first got off the plane with him. But I'm not sure that's completely true."_

 _"What?" Elise looked at her with disbelief. "How could you have known after only a few hours? That's crazy?"_

 _Anne laughed. "Yeah, it is crazy. But some part of me knew. Of course in my head I had doubts, we'd only just met. I do have some sense you know. Love is more than a feeling. It's actions and words put to kindness in many different ways. It's the little gentle ways we interact and care for one another. But everything I saw agreed with my heart and said_ Yes. This is him. Go for it. Don't put limits on your heart cause the risk is worth it."

 _"It's like gardening. If you blindly reach in to pick a rose, you run the risk of grabbing a thorn each time. But sometimes you can see the stem you want to pick and avoid the thorns. You just need to be bold and reach for it."_

 _"Are you trying to tell me this was love at first sight? Cause I don't buy that." Elise looked skeptical._

 _"Maybe you should." Anne eyed her with a teasing smile. "A little magic in your life wouldn't hurt." Her smile softened. "Ok, maybe it wasn't love at fist sight, but maybe more realistically it was_ strong potential for love at first sight _. First sight being eight hours on a plane together getting to know one another." She laughed. "But I did know. On some level, anyway. It just felt right. It still does. I'm completely at ease with him. I don't feel shy or uncomfortable with him about anything. There's no other way to describe it except that I love him." She smiled happily to herself. "Love is about empowering each other to be free. Not confining or possessing them to keep them for yourself. With him, I feel free."_

 _"When did you become the love expert?" Elise taunted._

* * *

Elsie sat on the porch thinking of her own past relationships, trying to compare, evaluate or at least think about what she had learned over the years that might help. But her mind kept wandering back to him. Elise had gone for lunch or dinner with Anders several times now for the purpose of discussing business but they never seemed to end up discussing anything related to business. They always found themselves talking about other things and just enjoying each other's company instead. He helped her to feel grounded in a way she'd never felt with Hans. She noticed that he was very careful and gentle with her and she liked that. He was protective of her but not possessive or overbearing. He just seemed to be quietly looking out for her.

Elise had found out through one of her lawyers, two days after the fact, that a tabloid reporter had gotten in to interview Hans. The outcome was that the reporter tried to publish a story saying that Elise had concocted this whole ordeal as a publicity scam and that she really was a heartless icy cold predator and Hans was just the latest victim. They tried to claim that her recent association with Anders was proof of her aggressive predator disposition and that she had moved on to her next target after ditching Hans. But somehow Anders had got wind of this before it got published and his law team went into overdrive filing injunctions and had the entire story silenced and the reporter brought up on charges of libel before anything reached the public.

When she inquired about it, he downplayed it as just another part of his normal day to day dealings with the public. _"The media are like children." He chided. "If you don't call them on their bad behaviour once in a while and discipline them, they become bad children."_

She recalled another conversation they had over lunch the other day that had amused her.

" _Anders? Are you pursuing me?" She had taunted him with an alluring smile._

 _Anders chuckled. "Maybe a little." He admitted. "But not in the way you might think."_

 _"What do you mean?"_

 _"Elise I don't want to presume to tell you what you need. It's not my place. But I don't think another boyfriend is what you need right now and I'm pretty sure you know that too. With everything that's gone on, it wouldn't be a healthy relationship. Knowing that, it would make it very selfish of me to pursue you and I don't want to be that guy. I'll freely admit I like you. I like you a lot more than I expected, but I don't think either of us is in the right head space for that right now. I'm happy just being your friend. I enjoy our conversations together."_

 _"Why?" She asked simply._

 _Anders grinned a little guiltily. "Okay, let me see if I can explain. This sounds cliche, but I sense something between us. A connection of some type. I don't know what that means, or where it will lead, if anywhere. And really, it doesn't matter. What does matter is how I feel about it. I feel a sense of calm from that connection. A sense of peace. I feel at ease with you and I like that. And maybe that has a lot to do with the fact that neither of us are pushing to get something out of this." As he paused to refocus, Elise was reminded of her sisters comment on feeling comfortable and at ease with Chris._

 _Anders continued, "Anne withheld revealing to Chris her full identity for a reason. She wanted to know he liked her and not her money or status. I've been there too. I've dated women who really only wanted to use me for their own gain. It hurts and it always puts you on guard when you meet new people. But with you I get the feeling that we both relax when we're together. We let that guard fall. I don't feel like there's any ulterior motives. Just two people enjoying some time together. Friends hanging out._

 _Elise began to giggle remembering another one of her sisters earlier comments._

 _"Is that funny?" Anders teased her sardonically. "I share my feelings with you and you laugh at me?"_

 _"No. No. Sorry." She laughed. "You just reminded me of something my sister said the other day that made me laugh."_

 _"Care to share? Or are you going to leave me hanging on the outside of an inside joke?"_

 _"Anne warned me about you." She smirked furtively._

 _"Warned? Warned about what?" Anders almost looked hurt._

 _Elise began to laugh. "She said if you aren't after me for my money or my status, that only leaves my body?" She stifled another laugh._

 _Anders let out a small huff. "Who could fault me for that?" He mumbled to himself._

 _"What was that?" Elise perked up with a sly grin._

 _"Nothing. Sorry. Just my inner monologue trying to get out." He looked a little flushed._

 _"Does it get out much? I'd like to talk to it."_

 _"Your not going to let this go are you?"_

 _Elise shook her head with a grin._

 _Anders face just grew a darker shade of red. "You're torturing me on purpose, aren't you?"_

 _Elise laughed. "I like to see powerful men squirm."_

 _"You think I'm powerful?" He prodded._

 _"Are you after my body?" She countered._

 _"Touché."_

 _"Oh? You want to touch it do you?" Elise was enjoying the verbal fencing._

 _"Your insufferable."_

 _"Thank you." She smiled back. "Your not half bad yourself."_

 _They both giggled together and sipped their wine._

Elise smiled to herself. She was enjoying his friendship and was having fun pushing his buttons. It was all good natured and she could tell he enjoyed it too. It felt good to laugh. It felt like a beam of warm sunshine after the darkness she'd been in for so long.

Anders had asked her for dinner again tomorrow night and she was excited about it. But in a bold move, inspired by her sister, she asked him to join her at the cabin for a dinner that she would cook for him, but only after a hard day of climbing. And only if he reached the summit. She had spelled out in no uncertain terms that if he failed to summit, he was cooking.

Elise grinned to herself wondering what tomorrow would bring. Could be good, could be a disaster. Either way it was worth exploring and she looked foreword to it. Secretly she had enlisted Chris's help to prepare for it as her culinary skills were somewhat lacking. Once again, she thought, it could be a disaster. She looked up at her sister across the field and smiled again. Seeing Anne happy made her happy.

* * *

"So now what? We still have three weeks before your next job. What do you want to do?" Anne looked up at him.

"I thought maybe I'd go home." Chris looked out at the water as if in contemplation.

"You still haven't told me where your from." Anne scolded him, her voice raised slightly.

Up till now, with the help of Elise, Chris had carefully redirected any conversations leading in this direction.

"No. I guess I haven't, have I." He let that linger for a minute to see if she'd bite.

"You're not going to tell me, are you?" Her tone was rising with annoyance. "So what, your just going to leave me and go home?" Her annoyance was beginning to show on her face.

"No, I'll tell you soon." He replied smugly.

"When?" She pressed.

"When we get off the plane." Chris pulled out two tickets from his pocket and held them up.

Anne's eyes went wide and she tried to snatch them away but he was taller and held the tickets up high.

"You rotten little tease." She move closer as if to jump for them but instead, grabbed his head and kissed him. She ran both hands up the back of his head, through his hair pulling his face close. She kissed him long and hard. She poured every ounce of love she felt for this man into that kiss and when the moment was right, she spun away, snatching the tickets and ran as fast as she could, giggling and laughing.

Chris took off after her. Anne screamed with laughter when she looked back and saw him chasing her. They ran like school children across the field towards the house, giggling hysterically.

* * *

Elise sat on the porch across from the field and watched her sister with an amused grin. She almost jumped though, when she suddenly remembered the email Chris had given her before supper. She pulled it from her pocket, opened it, and took out a scanned photo and a letter. In the photo was her grandmother Annika with another woman she didn't recognize, standing in front of the main entrance sign for the University of Oslo, wearing graduation caps and grinning with excitement.

She opened the email and began to read.

 _Chris,_

 _This is a photo of my mother, your grandmother, Frieda, and her roommate at their graduation. Her name Annika, was written on the back. I don't know too much about her except that they were really good friends in school and they traveled a lot together, she was also the one in the photos you sent me. Mom also told me once that it was her roommate, I assume Annika, that introduced her to your grandfather, Tom. I think she may have been the maid of honour at their wedding as well but I haven't been able to find their wedding photos yet. I'll keep looking. The three were close and went everywhere together._

 _The one thing you missed in all three of the pictures you sent me from Anne's photo albums was that your grandmother was the one taking the photos. Kind of changes the perspective on things doesn't it? I found a copy of the photo of them on the ship and the one of the three on the couch in mothers photo albums along with the negatives. She must have made copies for Annika._

 _Your grandmama Frieda's family was originally from Norway as well but had moved to western Canada when she was a young girl which is why she returned with Tom to settle here. At the time it was also hard to find work in Norway. Canada held many opportunities for emigrants back then._

 _As for your nieces, Elisabeth and Annafreid, just an odd coincidence. Elisabeth was named after your brother in law's grandmother and Annafreid was named for your grandmother Frieda. Her full name was also Annafreid although she always went by Frieda as long as I can remember. Ask your sister about this. She may have other reasons for their names but those are the official ones._

 _Regarding the painting, I just checked the signature and it is Annika who painted it. I had no idea there was another half to it. I'd love to see it. I believe it was a wedding gift from her to your grandparents. She signed the back for them. It says "Hope this will always bring back fond memories." I assume it's some place they visited together. It makes me happy to know you've been there. Maybe some day I could see it too. I know your father would have loved it._

 _Look forward to seeing you home soon. Can't wait to meet your friend Anne._

 _Love you always._

 _Mom._

She smiled to herself trying to imagine the odds of their grandmothers being best friends. It was astounding. She grinned even more at the plan Chris and her had worked out to introduce Anne to Chris's mother.

She couldn't wait to see the look on Anne's face when Chris opened to door to Dagney's house in Comox, and Anne found Dagney, and herself sitting on the couch together waiting for her. Not to mention the two paintings together for the first time in decades.

Elise smiled to herself again. She was happy for her sister. She was happy for Chris. For the first time in forever, she was happy.

* * *

 **Authors Note** :

That's it, that's all. Hope it was somewhat of an entertaining journey and not a complete waste of your time. As I said at the the start, this is my fist attempt at writing anything and it was a learning experience. I know the story has a few rough spots and some weak points that could use a little work. Feel free to point them out. All reviews welcome if they're constructive. On that note I wanted to say thanks to IceWraith for his reviews and comments. They helped me see things I missed and helped me clean up some of the storyline in later chapters before I published. Maybe in the future I'll revisit this and see about improving it.

To those of you who've stuck with it till the end, thank you so much for taking the time to read my story.

AF


End file.
